The Sweetest Torture
by Naruillin14
Summary: A coincidental meeting with Thomas and family proves to be a life-changing event for Kelly Hart. "These people must be the most hospitable abductors ever!" Rated M for graphic gore, coarse language, and perhaps later chapters in general. R&R, no flames.
1. A Difficult Morning

The sweltering heat of the Texan summer day invaded the car as it traveled past browned fields and the occasional group of trees. Driving the car all the way from the airport had seemed an easy enough task in her head, but her plan had soon proved to be a daunting, lonely chore to Kelly. The AC had ceased to work an hour ago, and the radio helped little in easing her battle with the never-ending stretch of highway before her.

"Oh c'mon…let there be one good station to listen to, please?" Kelly pleaded with some unknown power as she once again divided her attention between driving and playing with the radio knob. Just as she changed the station one last time, static emitted loudly from the speakers. She sighed, flipping her auburn hair behind her shoulder and rolling her sky-blue eyes heavenward before fixing them on the road in a determined glare.

"I'm going to kill Edward for suggesting I rent a car! This junk heap on wheels can't be worth a darn! Why did he have to move down here where its so unbearably hot!" Kelly had never been able to stand high temperatures for prolonged periods, and was the first to complain when she broke a sweat unintentionally. She didn't like subjecting people to long-winded whining, so she typically kept her fits to a single statement, albeit a highly sarcastic one that her friends would end up laughing at. Her good tempered nature often allowed such friendly ridicule, and she usually joined in the laughter. If they had been with her today, her friends would've been silenced with a deadly glare instead.

As Kelly's rented car continued to speed down the highway, a side road appeared that Kelly was certain wasn't on her map. "Strange…oh Lord, maybe it's a shortcut!" The unhappy demeanor that had settled on her features was suddenly replaced by a hopeful smile as she imagined arriving at her brother's house hours ahead of schedule. He wasn't expecting her for another week, but she had wanted to surprise him. "He'll be getting the verbal bashing of his life early!" Laughing to herself, Kelly turned onto the 'shortcut' and sped up, daydreaming about a cold shower and a comfortable bed.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Four hours passed by, and Kelly had slipped back into a dark mood. Unsure of whether to turn back or continue on her mysterious and thus far unhelpful road, she had briefly stopped at an old gas station after she'd noted the car's need for fuel. Finding no one inside, she had concluded that it had been abandoned, cursed at her luck, and decided to keep going. The afternoon sun that had beat down on the world all day was now obscured by a fast-approaching dark cloud, a cloud that Kelly desperately hoped meant rain.

As it became apparent that a storm was destined to hit, Kelly noticed a shape in the road ahead of her. It was small, far away, but she could almost swear that it was moving. Upon speeding up the shape soon distinguished itself as a man, a tall man who was walking away from her.

_"Maybe he can give me directions…" _Kelly slowed down as her car rapidly caught up to her supposed aid. The man was much taller than she had first figured, a comparable giant next to everyone she knew. His dark brown hair was almost shoulder length and somehow suited him. A bloodstained apron covered an old, faded shirt and tie. Stopping the car just behind him, she had a view of the back of his head where something was tied atop his hair.

"_Too low for a bandana…"_ she dimly registered, but didn't pay it much mind. "Excuse me, sir? Would you happen to know how far away the next town is from here?"

To her surprise the man continued to walk away from her, his gait unaltered even for a split second. _"Maybe I'm being too quiet?" _Kelly wondered as she slowly rolled the car closer to the man's side. She tried again.

"Sir? Could you tell me…" The stranger's abrupt stop startled her into silence. He stood, staring straight ahead at the road, silent as ever. Oddly enough, where Kelly normally would have been frustrated, she was instead fighting off curiosity. Against her better judgment, and arguably her sanity, she stopped the car and got out.

Leaning against the driver side door gave her an improved view of the person she had hoped would be her human map. As she regarded the silent man he slowly turned toward her, looking at her with a neutral countenance. Immediately she fixed her view on his face, particularly his brown eyes. He had a worn leather-like mask covering the lower half of his face; as much as she wanted to study it, she strategically ignored it. After all, Kelly wasn't keen on irritating or offending him…she needed this information, and he might well be her only shot at getting it.

"I'm a bit lost, Sir, and I was hoping that maybe you could tell me how far the closest town is?" She gave him a polite but genuine smile; she'd never been one to flash a fake. "Oh, and is there a gas station nearby? I'm running low."

The man remained silent but showed that he'd heard her by walking closer to her car, stopping a foot away from the passenger side, then pointing down the road. As Kelly attempted to comprehend what she assumed he'd 'said', a clap of thunder sounded loudly above the pair. Kelly jumped while the man simply looked up at the clouds.

_"He must be used to this fickle weather…for crying out loud!" _A fat raindrop had landed on her left shoulder. Looking at the darkening pavement, she realized that she didn't want to be rained on; without thinking Kelly looked at the man who had returned to staring at her.

"Get in!" The girl didn't stop for a response before getting in herself, and she hadn't needed to. The man didn't wait too long before opening the door and sitting next to her in the small vehicle.

"So…," Kelly began, feeling that conversation was needed, "where were you headed? Need a ride?"

The man nodded, sticking to what Kelly considered to be his 'pledge of silence,' and proceeded to stare at her again.

_"What is this guy's deal? Is he shy?" _At that notion Kelly had to force back a smile. _"Where the hell was he walking to anyway?"_ Her eyes searched the road and surrounding landscape, but nothing significant came into view. She recalled passing by a run-down building with a faded company name on its wooden side a while back. _"Maybe he was walking from there?"_

While she was lost in thought Kelly failed to notice a pair of headlights that pierced the drab, gray horizon. As the car that the lights belonged to approached, however, the man to her side gave a small start when he took notice of it. Kelly looked from her acquaintance to the now parked car in surprise. Her surprise was rapidly replaced by excitement as a policeman exited his old-fashioned patrol car.

"Hello there Miss. Are you lost?" The cop bent down to look through Kelly's window.

"Somewhat, thank you for stopping Officer. Could you direct me to the nearest-"

"Thomas! The hell are you doin' out here boy? I said I'd be gettin' you late today!" The policeman had taken notice of the man sitting next to Kelly; evidently they knew one another.

"Oh, I was only asking him for directions…" She shut her mouth as the officer shifted his irritated gaze from Thomas to her. He seemed to marvel at her for a second before speaking again.

"I'm Sheriff Hoyt, and this is my nephew Thomas. I'm gonna take a wild guess and say he didn't introduce himself…anyhow, we don't get a lot of people comin' through here no more, so we ain't got a gas station to speak of."

Kelly felt a pang of disappointment as she realized that her shortcut might have caused more trouble than help. "Is there anyway that I could…"

"You let Tommy in here?" Hoyt looked at her curiously.

"Well, yes. I didn't think he'd want to be rained on…why?" Kelly was intrigued by Hoyt's question.

"You from the city, Miss…?" He had ignored her question, but she wouldn't dream of pressing him.

"Oh, I'm sorry. My name's Kelly Hart, and I've never lived in a city." She offered her hand to Hoyt, who shook it firmly.

"Why don't you follow me to my house? We'll get you something to eat." Hoyt glanced at Thomas before giving Kelly a brief smile. She got the impression that he wasn't in the habit of showing kindness.

"Sounds great, thank you Sheriff." She smiled back, not wanting to turn down a free meal.

The sheriff gave a curt nod, returned to his patrol car, started it up and began driving. Kelly followed him for what seemed an eternity with Thomas as her quiet companion. Though she wanted to talk about something, anything, she figured her comments would go unanswered. She kept them to herself.


	2. Home Sweet Home

At long last, a white mansion-like house appeared at the road's side, and Hoyt's car pulled into its driveway just as Kelly had hoped. It was an impressive residence, to say the least, even with some age showing. It didn't take long for the visitor to make a remark about it.

"This is your house? It's beautiful…" She looked from Hoyt, who had appeared by the car to show her in, to study the clean, white pillars of the mansion. Hoyt nodded in agreement before gesturing for Thomas to get out and come with them. The rain had calmed down by the time Kelly had parked her car next to Hoyt's, so she was able to enjoy the walk to the door.

"Remember to wipe your shoes on the mat, Tommy. You know what your mama will say if you don't…just cleaned the damned floors…" Kelly made sure to do the same herself, smiling at Thomas for a second before walking further inside.

"This is it, Kelly. Bathroom's there if you need it," he pointed to a door down the hall. "Woman! Where'd you get to?" Kelly looked at Hoyt and determined that he hadn't referred to her.

"Did you get Tommy? You shouldn't have waited so long Hoyt, you know he don't like waitin' in the rain…" The old woman who had answered stopped midway through her sentence when she noticed Kelly. "Well, we have a visitor! What's your name Dearie?" The woman smiled at Kelly as she resumed her descent down the stairs.

"Kelly Hart, I'm pleased to meet you ma'am." Kelly never used what she called "southern lingo" but she assumed using it now could only improve her situation. She was right.

"Oh, such a nice girl," the woman grinned at her, obviously pleased. "Would you like some tea? I've just made some in the kitchen."

"I've never had tea before, but I don't see why not." Kelly began to follow the woman to what she guessed was the kitchen, then paused. "Oh, I forgot my purse in the car. I'll be right back." She turned to the door and found it blocked by Thomas, who looked down at her with his head slightly tilted. He must've been staring again.

"No need to do it yourself, Kelly, Tommy'll get it for ya." Hoyt spoke up. There was something in the way that he'd said it that bothered Kelly…she thought he was strangely reluctant to let her out of the house. She shrugged, fished out the keys from her jeans pocket and handed them to Thomas.

"Thanks, I appreciate it." She looked into his brown eyes for a moment then turned to join the elderly woman.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What do you think?" Hoyt asked.

Luda Mae continued to look at Kelly's slumped -over form before answering. "She's polite, didn't give me any lip. Don't think she'll give us any trouble." She turned to finally face her brother. "What was she doin' when you found her?"

"She was just sittin' in her car with the boy in the passenger side. Said she let him in so he wouldn't get rained on…" His voice trailed off as he considered the novelty of the situation. "Don't know if we can keep her…another mouth to feed…"

"She said she's on a diet." Both suppressed a laugh. "She can't eat much meat, says she likes vegetables better. Thomas and Monty never eat those; she can take 'em."

"You want her then?" Hoyt looked to his sister again. He didn't care either way, so long as Kelly did what she was told and stayed out of their 'hobby' business.

"She can help me around the house…I'm gettin' old, Hoyt. Besides, if she's nice to Tommy-"

The kitchen door banged open; Thomas had returned from procuring more 'food' in the basement and held a bloody bowl in his hands. He unceremoniously thrust it toward Hoyt, who took it over to a counter.

"Was Kelly nice to you child?" Luda Mae regarded her son with pride. It was about time someone was nice to her boy. Tommy never deserved what other kids had done to him, he was such a good boy…if they'd only given him a chance and gotten to know him.

Thomas looked from his mother to Hoyt. "Tell her boy."

Thomas faced Luda and nodded. Luda Mae's smile grew broader. "Well then, she told me she was heading to visit her brother; we'll have to put a stop to that. But where to put her…?" She turned to Thomas, who had taken notice of Kelly and, to Mae's surprise, stared at her with a concerned expression as he reached his hand out toward her. "Don't worry Tommy; she only had my special tea, nothin' more." Thomas pulled his hand back and straightened up, embarrassed at having been caught. "Do you wanna keep her Tommy? She'd be a help to me but she'll have to stay in your room. That okay with you?"

Her son enthusiastically nodded, then turned to face his new room mate. Kelly twitched in her induced sleep, causing her limp body to slide off the chair. Thomas stooped over, caught her before she hit the floor and placed her back where she'd been seated.

"Better get 'er upstairs Tommy, before she wakes up." Hoyt suggested as he busily pierced the fresh meat with a fork. The masked man watched Kelly for a moment before carefully picking her up and slowly moving toward the stairs.

"I'll be darned Hoyt, I think Tommy's taken a likin' to that girl. My boy's growin' up." Luda Mae sighed happily to herself before ordering Hoyt out of the kitchen so she could finish cooking.


	3. Friends?

Kelly's eyelids fluttered open as she felt herself being lowered onto something soft. "Edward, is that you? I had the most vivid dream." As her vision cleared up she realized that she was looking at Thomas, not her brother. "Oh, sorry Thomas, for a second there I thought…never mind." For the first time Kelly was able to register an emotion on Thomas's face, or more so in his gaze. She thought he looked disappointed. "What's wrong?" She tried to sit up and just as soon laid back down. "What happened to me? And where am I?"

Thomas sat down on a chair next to the bed Kelly now rested on. He motioned to himself with his left hand, then pointed to the floor with his right.

"Is this your room?" He nodded, then scooted his chair closer before looking at her face again. "Well, did I faint or something? I don't remember anything except talking to the woman who made me tea." Again Thomas gestured his answer by pointing to Kelly, flattening his hand in a straight up position, then abruptly setting it parallel to the floor. "So I fainted?" Kelly asked weakly. Something about this didn't seem right to her. Thomas confirmed that her guess was correct. "I've never fainted before; I suppose there's a first time for everything," Kelly glanced at her companion, "Do you have a phone I could use? I need to call my brother and let him know that I'll be late."

The response she received wasn't what she'd hoped for: Thomas visibly tensed up and violently shook his head. "Okay, okay, no worries. He wasn't expecting me today anyhow." It took a few minutes of silence for Thomas to loosen up again, and by that time dinner had finished cooking. The woman who'd offered Kelly tea appeared in the doorway with a grin on her face.

"Feeling better Dear? I see Thomas was looking after you, such a good boy." She smiled at her son and continued. "Supper's ready; oh no, don't bother gettin' up, I'll send some food to you. Don't want you takin' a tumble. And my name's Luda Mae; didn't get a chance to say it before you fell over." Thomas' mother laughed quietly to herself as she went back downstairs.

"Thomas?" Kelly called as he was about to leave. "Thank you for helping me out and letting me use your room. I owe you one." She smiled at him. Thomas seemed momentarily stunned but recovered quickly and left.

"_Gee, that went well," _Kelly thought sarcastically to herself. _"What is it with the people here? I guess they're harmless enough, but Hoyt gives me the creeps…and why won't Thomas speak to me? I didn't offend him, did I?"_

All that Kelly had to occupy herself were her musings; she studied the peeling white paint on the ceiling as she drifted through a dozen different considerations in her overworked mind.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thomas' POV

After exiting his room Thomas stopped and leaned against the wall. He was thinking about Kelly; she had been…nice to him. The masked giant looked down at himself: he was dirty, had been told many times over the years that he was ugly even with his mask on, and he knew good and well that he wasn't normal. Did Kelly even notice? She hadn't laughed at him, hadn't sped away like he'd expected her to, had gone so far as to invite him into her car to escape the downpour.

What had really struck Thomas the most, though, was that Kelly seemed to be aware of the fact that he had feelings, that he was a person too. She'd been decent to him, polite, even thanking him for getting her things and helping her to bed. It had been unlooked for, surprising to say the least. As he broke out of his reflections he felt a smile playing at the corners of his mouth under the mask. He had a friend…at least, he thought she was his friend. How was he supposed to feel toward a friend? His smile faded into a frown.

"Tommy! Come down and eat!" Mama called from the kitchen. "Your friend needs her dinner too, so hurry up." Thomas cleared his head; he'd figure out his dilemma later.

After he finished eating his food Thomas carried a vegetable and fruit-laden tray up to his and Kelly's room. Slowly he opened the door, careful not to let it creak, and peeked in. It was plain to see that Kelly had slipped back into sleep; her face was relaxed and peaceful.

As he looked down at her sleeping form, Thomas felt an unexplain urge to reach down and touch her cheek. He felt his face growing hotter the longer he considered it; the only thing he could think to do was to place the tray noisily next to the bed and exit the room as quickly as possible. He felt a small tinge of guilt for likely disturbing her sleep, but that couldn't be helped now.

He made his way down into the basement, sat down and waited to feel himself again. Being around Kelly made Thomas feel strange. He wasn't sure whether or not he liked the way he felt; all he could think to do was to go where he would be the way he'd always been: alone in the dark, damp basement. Instead of finding the solitude he'd gone there for, he found himself wishing that he was still in his room, wishing that Kelly was awake and talking to him. He could hear her voice playing like a song in his head, saw her face when he closed his eyes.

Thomas stomped his foot on the concrete floor in an attempt to clear his thoughts. Life had never been confusing for him before; either he was blindly following what Hoyt told him to do or he was acting out his anger and rage on victims. Things were simple, predictable, and he'd known exactly what needed to happen or be done. Thomas hadn't been happy very often, that much was true, but he'd lived through every day with a clarity of mind where his family's affairs were concerned. Confusion had been a stranger to him since he had been young, but now Kelly had reintroduced Thomas to it.

At length Thomas decided to return upstairs to some degree of comfort. Maybe he'd venture into his room again when he'd gotten things straightened out…


	4. Clumsy Me

Kelly's POV

"What was that?" Kelly wondered aloud. Her pleasant dreams were interrupted by a metallic **clunk** to the left side of the bed. Groggily she propped her upper body up before scoping out her surroundings. Nothing was different from before as far as her hazy memory could tell her: the wooden dresser and her bed were all there was furniture-wise in the dismal room; floor and dresser were covered in a layer of dust.

"Probably an old house noise, or the wind, or whatever. If it wakes me up again, something's getting broken." She grinned to herself as she imagined making good on her threat by breaking the bedroom window, then having to explain it to Luda Mae. As her daydream went on she began to laugh and made to get up and walk to the door.

"Oh!" Kelly's foot had caught in the tray handle, causing her to fall onto the wooden floor. She looked back, sighing with relief at the food which still rested in its dishes. _"Well, at least I didn't get any splinters…"_

A succession of increasingly loud thuds told her someone was running up the stairs. The bedroom door swung open to reveal a wide-eyed Thomas. Kelly rose from the floor and stood up to face her puzzled host.

"Sorry about that; got out of bed and fell over the tray." Kelly mentally scolded herself for not watching where she'd been going- what if she'd woken him up? The chirping crickets under a waning twilight sky told her the hour was getting late. All she received in return was a nod from Thomas. _"At least he isn't mad,"_ she looked around the room to avoid his persistent gaze.

"Were you asleep? Or maybe eating?" Thomas shook his head once, gestured to the chair then pointed out the door and downward. "You were sitting downstairs, that's all? Not that it makes a difference- sorry to interrupt your rest."

"_Smooth Kelly, real nice. Why not just heckle him?"_ She looked back to the tray. "I'm fine; I'll just eat my dinner now, tell Luda Mae I said thank you."

Kelly gave Thomas her back, picked up the tray and balanced it across her lap after she'd sat on the bed. The plateful of salad and bowl of apple slices looked delicious, and it wasn't until she'd begun to eat that Kelly discovered how famished she was. There remained a half-bitten apple piece when Kelly looked up again. Thomas had recovered his chair and was seated in it across the room…had he been there this entire time?

"Thomas? Did you ever tell Luda Mae 'thank you' for me?" He didn't give off a bad vibe to Kelly, but his constant staring and silence was wearing on her. It was hard to keep being polite to someone who wouldn't speak or avert his eyes every now and then.

The man shrugged, then set his line of sight out the window. Kelly sighed; he must have forgotten. Why would he choose to sit and watch her eat when he could be doing something else? Was there nothing better for him to do around the house? She assumed that he might be bored; he only lived in the middle of nowhere. _"Still," _Kelly resumed her train of thought, _"even if I was dying of boredom, I'd never think to watch someone else eat. Oh well, I'll be gone soon; the least I could do is humor him."_

"I'd better get going Thomas, thanks for everything." Her smile was met with an anxious look from Thomas, who stood up rather quickly. "What's wrong? Are you alright?" Thomas' eyes had widened with what she took as fear; he seemed to be holding himself back from doing something. Just as Kelly was about to pose her question again Luda Mae appeared in the doorway.

"Did you enjoy-" Mae's query was cut off by the look her son gave her. "Tommy, what's a matter?" Thomas motioned for her to follow him, leaving Kelly alone in his room.

"Is something wrong child?" Luda Mae dropped her voice to a whisper. "Was Kelly mean to you?"

Thomas shook his head then frantically made gestures toward his room. It was a small thing, but after many years of raising him Luda understood Tommy with a capacity no other could approach.

"What did she say Dear?" Mae's brow furrowed, a sign that she was concentrating.

Her son went still for a moment before making his way to a window, opening it, then motioning for his mother to look outside. He pointed to the rented car.

"Oh, she said she's leavin'? Don't you worry none, Uncle Hoyt'll fix that. Let me talk to her. You go get your uncle out there." Thomas' face lost its panicked look. He nodded, lightly hugged his mother, and all but dashed down the stairs. Luda chuckled to herself while she made her way to her guest's room.


	5. Plans

"Thank you for dinner ma'am, it tasted great." Kelly greeted Luda when she reappeared.

"You're more than welcome Dear. Anything for a friend of Tommy's." The woman beamed down at her.

"_Friend?"_ Kelly thought. "Oh…not a problem." She had hesitated for a second in her answer; had there been hidden meaning in Mae's statement, or was she simply being hospitable? Kelly hoped she wasn't becoming paranoid but couldn't shake the notion that the situation felt wrong somehow. The girl was so lost in thought that she jumped when Luda suddenly came to her side.

"No need to worry, I'm just checkin' yer fever." Her forearm pressed firmly against Kelly's forehead for half a minute. "Oh, you still feel hot Dearie. Wouldn't want you driving at night like this." Mae hinted at the younger woman.

"Do I? I feel fine-"

"Don't be silly! You had a temperature when you passed out earlier; I know sick when I see it." Luda paused to flash a stern look at Kelly, hoping to change her mind.

"Well, I really wanted to get to my brother's new house today…I can visit you again on my way back home." Kelly made the suggestion in an effort to get the old woman off her case. It worked, although not as well as planned. Luda Mae's demeanor changed from kind and concerned to slightly cold.

"Fine. I'll tell Tommy to get yer things back to yer car." And before Kelly got a chance to respond Mae had walked briskly out the door, tray in hand. Unsure of what to do with herself, Kelly continued to sit on the bedside.

While their guest was busy doing nothing, the residents of the Texan mansion had plenty on their hands. Hoyt and Thomas saw to it that Kelly wouldn't be driving off soon (or at all) by emptying her rented ride's gas tank into a waiting container.

"Well whadda ya know, Tommy? Free gas!" Hoyt smirked into the darkness. "Looks like there was somethin' in this for me too…yer holdin' the hose too low boy! Put it up- there ya go! You can be such a help when yer not screwin' up!"

Thomas glared at the hose in his hand; he was used to his uncle's demeaning jokes by now, but for some reason he'd worried about Kelly coming outside and overhearing his comments. A quick scan around the yard abated his fear, and he went back to aiding Hoyt.

Meanwhile, Luda Mae had her own chores to attend to. She'd brought in another chair for Kelly at the dining table, setting it next to her son's designated spot. Humming a melody had set her mood back to a pleasant tone as she recovered a forgotten set of bed sheets and covers out of a closet. These were to be washed, then put on Thomas' bed. It had been unfortunate that Mae hadn't had the opportunity to change her son's sheets before Kelly slept there, but Mae hadn't thought the girl had noticed. Didn't matter much anyhow, Luda decided; she'd come to like living here, clean sheets or not.

A creak outside her door brought Kelly out of her trance. Thomas filled the doorway, looking across the room at the one person who had given him considerable respect. Kelly raised herself from her seated position but didn't get far before Thomas had closed the distance between them. He was a little too close for Kelly's comfort level to handle, so she backed up a few inches. A frown formed behind the leather mask as Thomas moved forward again, this time ending up closer to her than he'd been before. Kelly had to tilt her head upward to look at the man's face, or what she could see of it.

"Thomas? What are you doing?" Her answer was the jingling of keys as he pulled them out of his pocket and held them between himself and his guest. She glanced up at him through her eyelashes before viewing her keys once more.

"Thanks." She plucked them out of Thomas' open hand, turned to the door and walked out at an almost rude pace. She was a little angry with herself for showing ingratitude to the quiet man when he hadn't actually done anything to deserve it, but being in such close proximity to her bulky roommate had unnerved her. What exactly had made her uncomfortable, though? Kelly halted her trip down the stairs at the question.

"_He was close to me, too close for someone I just met…but I hadn't been __**afraid **__of him. Why was I bothered about it then? He hadn't done anything to scare me or make me think he was going to hurt me, although he'd had the perfect opportunity…"_ Kelly's eyes registered movement above her; Thomas was watching her from inside his room. Immediately she lowered her gaze and resumed the journey to the front door. Luda Mae was waiting there, probably to see her off. What a good hostess.


	6. Cruel Intentions

"Mind if I take you up on yer offer?" The woman smiled politely at Kelly as she opened the front door.

"Sure, it would be my pleasure." Kelly returned the smile, inwardly glad that Mae's mood had lightened considerably. She had dreaded having to face that side of her again, and wondered what exactly had brought it on. In the end she'd figured that Mae was most likely wanting for company and wished that she would extend her stay.

Outside the air felt much nicer than it had during midday; the smell of rain permeated the cool night and added to Kelly's appreciation of the many crickets' enthused performance. A slight breeze played with her long auburn hair, which had been straightened that morning and now hung in waves about her oval face. The sky blue eyes held the house in their gaze for presumably the last time before their owner made her way to her car.

"Glad that's over with." Kelly settled into her seat, buckled herself in, and put her key in the ignition. Her pleased grin rapidly vanished as the engine sputtered then went silent.

"No…no, no, no!" The redhead begged the vehicle to start up, trying to start it over and over until it was abundantly clear that there was no hope in pursuing the endeavor. She smacked the faded steering wheel with her palms before hanging her head in disappointment. Slowly she raised her head again, faced the house, and released a loud sigh.

"You have got to be kidding me."

Standing on the front porch of the white house were Hoyt, Luda Mae, and Thomas. And they were all staring right at her.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kelly wasn't sure what to think at first. They must've come out to watch her leave, she assumed, to make sure she had everything. But when she took a closer look she could see that Hoyt was stifling a laugh and Luda Mae wore a smug grin above crossed arms. Thomas' posture didn't tell Kelly anything, and trying to read his face would've been pointless even if she were nearer to him.

She yanked the keys out of the ignition, unbuckled herself, and leaned back in her seat so she could search through her belongings. An empty backseat was all she found.

"_Where's my stuff? Didn't Thomas bring it out here?"_ As if by magic, something in Kelly's mind clicked. Two and two came together.

"_Oh my God…they fucked with my car! That's why she was in a good mood again and why Thomas didn't keep freaking out!"_ Horror gripped Kelly's insides as she slowly turned her body forward. There they all were…still staring, although Hoyt seemed to be battling a fit of laughter that interfered with his ability to hold a gaze.

"_Cute."_ At least sarcasm hadn't failed her.

A couple minutes passed by and Kelly was still in the rented car. She didn't want to leave what she considered to be the last safe place she had left, didn't want to go back inside that house, didn't want to interact with those people…those strange, possibly deranged people. What would happen now?


	7. Hide and Seek

Thomas broke his observation of Kelly's unfolding dilemma to questioningly eye his mother, who seemed amused with the way things were going.

"Go get her child; she's yours." Hoyt's laughter died at the comment and he turned around toward the pair with an irritated expression etched into his features.

"What about me Ma? Where's my fun?"

Luda Mae glared disapprovingly at her brother. "You'll get yer fun soon enough; more kids'll have come through by this time next week. You've always gotten the girls, let Tommy have this one."

"I'll only play with her a little bit; he can have her after that. Ow! Damn it woman!" Luda Mae had struck Hoyt on his shoulder, making her point final.

"Have the damned broad boy, just keep 'er outta my way." Hoyt threw one last glare over his shoulder before storming into the house.

"I'll be inside if you need me Tommy. She won't be any trouble for you." Luda reassured her son as she too entered her home. "I'll be in the kitchen if you need me." Thomas listened to her steps as they faded down the hall.

The last one on the porch, Thomas exhaled and looked toward Kelly's vehicle.

She wasn't there.

Instinctively he rushed toward it, his head moving from side to side in a panic. No movement would escape his notice, no sound evade him. He would find her if it took all night and a day.

The first place he checked was under the car, a favorite spot among most of the victims that had gotten this far. No luck there. He unbent his back and scanned his surroundings. A tiny motion caught his eye; something small had glinted in the darkness. It disappeared as quickly as it had grabbed his attention.

The frantic search had evolved into a hide and seek game of sorts. Thomas knew the house and the property much more intimately than his prey: it was only a matter of time before he caught her.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kelly fought her lungs in a battle to control her breathing. She'd been pleased at first that she had escaped the unwanted attention and managed to make a change of scenery without alerting her odd hosts. She hadn't so much as twitched when Thomas came into view minutes later, apparently seeking her out. But when he'd starting looking around again…the look of calm determination on his face had alarmed her. In her fright she'd shifted her weight, causing Thomas to jerk his head in her direction. Kelly froze except for the unconscious placing of her right hand over her heart: a nervous habit. She didn't move a muscle for what seemed like hours. Finally Thomas moved his gaze, then got up and walked back toward the house's front.

"_Why is he walking now when he'd been running earlier?"_ The thought jolted Kelly out of her frozen terror and into a trembling existence where she couldn't hear anything above the pounding of blood in her ears.

Her hiding place had proven itself a wise choice; she thought that staying near the car would've been bad news. The shadow cast by a nearby wooden shed felt safer in any case, and from it she gained a considerable lookout point. Not that she would give it much use: the faster she moved to a new location, the better.

"_Where to now?"_ She eyed the area near the back of the home. Mentally cursing her inattention to the yard earlier, when sunlight had been afforded her, she squinted into the darkness. A large, deeper black shape looked promising, she concluded. Now she'd have to wait a bit, just to make sure the coast was clear.

Heat unexpectedly tickled the back of her exposed neck. Kelly flicked a strand of hair behind her back in a half-thought out attempt to divert the warmth, but to no avail. She had just decided that the way was safe when an observation forced itself to the forefront of her attention.

Why was the air warm only behind her?


	8. Breathless

Kelly's eyes widened as she felt her heart begin to race. Did she hear…breathing? A small whimper escaped her slightly parted lips as she built up the courage to turn around.

"_It's just your imagination, Kelly, that's all. You'll get out of here and laugh about this with Edward in a couple of days…"_

Kelly tightly shut her eyes, creasing her forehead. She slowly forced her rigid body to make a 180 degree turn. The warmth was hitting her face now. As much as she wanted to keep her eyes firmly closed, she knew she had to see where the heat was emanating from. Her eyes snapped open to reveal…

Thomas stood right in front of her, just as close as he'd gotten to her in his room earlier. He did not move a muscle toward her; instead he regarded his former prey with an unusual emotion which only showed its existence to the world through a strange gleam in his eyes.

Kelly couldn't breathe, her gasps for air were largely futile and raspy. Thomas' eyes lost the amused spark they'd contained; his brow furrowed as he wondered what was going on.

"_Oh God, I'm having an asthma attack! Where's my inhaler? Can I make it over to where it is?"_ Kelly lowered herself to the ground, steadily working to control her breathing.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thomas' POV

Thomas knelt in front of the girl, tiny compared with his abnormal stature. The wheezing that accompanied her every breath was entirely new to him. Was she dying? Had he hurt her somehow? He'd been careful not to touch her…maybe she'd injured herself?

"Thomas." He focused entirely on Kelly at the sound of his barely spoken name. "You need to bring me my things; there is medicine that I need in my bag." It was blatantly obvious that each word took her noticeable energy to get out.

The masked man wasn't sure what to do. Was Kelly trying to trick him? He doubted that she'd make it far before he caught up to her, but why waste the time and energy when he had her now? He had found himself enjoying their 'game' before. Could they go back to that? One last listen to her rattled inhaling and exhaling told him that the fun was over, if only for now.

Thomas rose to his feet. He looked first at the pale, thin girl, then at the house, and back again to the huddled form before him. Swiftly and suddenly Thomas hunched over, scooped Kelly into his arms, and carried her from her hiding spot into the house. Once inside he gently laid her down on one of the loveseats in the sitting room before making a mad dash into the kitchen. He returned with Luda Mae in tow moments later.

"What is all this about? Oh my, are you alright Dearie?" The woman's tone changed as she took in the pitiful scene she had joined.

"I need my medicine from my bag. Please…"

"Shhh, child. Calm down, just breathe."

Kelly had begun to clutch at her shirt just above her chest. She'd always done that when she had had breathing trouble as a child, and the habit had stuck ever since. Most times she didn't realize she was doing it until someone pointed it out. This time was no different.

"Don't grab your shirt like that; you'll only make it worse." Kelly's hand dropped to her side but continued to clutch at the furniture's fabric.

Luda Mae turned to her son. "Tommy, you get her things down here quick. Don't fool around!" He didn't need to be told even once: he was already halfway up the stairs when Luda called her instructions to him.

Thomas rushed back down the stairs in a panic. If Mama was acting like Kelly was sick, then how sick was she? A novel thought crossed his mind; so novel, in fact, that he stopped dead in his tracks. "_Would she be okay?" _He was hit with an epiphany that he had never believed he would have: he cared about Kelly. He was worried about her, looked forward to hearing her voice again…this had never happened before with anyone save for his mother.

"Tommy! Get over here with her things!" His mother didn't yell at him very often, and when she did it was sufficient to snap him out of the deepest reverie.

The towering man quickly deposited the guest's bag on a coffee table to Luda Mae's right. All he could do after that was get out of the way and watch the proceedings.

Kelly gasped for air as she caught sight of the familiar duffle bag. She reached out an arm toward its strap when Mae stepped in.

"Where is it Dearie?" Luda Mae opened the bag and began digging through clothing and personal effects.

"Side pocket…" Kelly wheezed.

It wasn't long before Mae held up an odd contraption and moved it toward Kelly's face.

"This it?" She asked with a hopeful inflection.

Kelly's breathing was so shallow that she could only nod in response. Greedily she took it from Luda Mae's hand, exhaled as much as her lungs would allow, and pressed her fingers on a shiny part of the device. A hissing sound emitted from the inhaler as Kelly sharply breathed in.

"Feel better Dear?" Mae looked worriedly at her son's companion.

Kelly nodded but said nothing; she was holding her breath. Thomas leaned down to get a closer look. Kelly looked up at him and continued to hold her breath.

"_Why isn't she breathing? Is she doing that on purpose?" _He studied her small frame, particularly her chest. It still did not fall. Thomas decided to take action: he roughly sat down beside Kelly, seized her shoulders and brought her face close to his. She turned her face to the side and exhaled loudly just as Thomas' lips collided with her cheek.

**This story was the product of a very boring Thursday last week coupled with my overactive imagination. I'll update as soon as possible: please rate and review! Criticisms are welcome so long as they're constructive. On a final note, if a more experienced writer could contact me I'd like to get some technical questions answered. Thanks for reading!**

**~Naruillin**


	9. Bedtime Story

Kelly's POV

"_What did he just do?"_ Kelly was stunned. Had Thomas just kissed her? Technically, yes. He'd seemed just as surprised as she had been when he pulled away. Had he not meant to kiss her? She was lowered back onto the couch cushions while he glanced up for his mother's help, but she had sneaked off without a sound. His gaze rested on Kelly again.

"I'm supposed to hold my breath for the medicine to work, you know. I hope that I hadn't scared you. I'm fine now." She held his gaze, waiting for him to gesture back.

Thomas shifted in his seat; he seemed to be uncomfortable, not physically but socially Kelly assumed. She grew tired of waiting for an answer from him so she settled for being straightforward.

"Why did you kiss me?" Her eyes held their course. She was taken aback when he met her scrutiny with a pleading look, as if he were attempting to persuade her not to be upset with him.

"What is it?" Her voice had softened so that he would understand the lack of anger.

He looked at her thoughtfully before nodding his chin toward her inhaler. Kelly blinked back.

"What? I don't understand…"

Thomas pointed to her medicine and then proceeded to elaborate by placing his hand somewhat dramatically over his own chest and jerking it in an outward direction. This time she comprehended his message.

"Oh, you were trying to help." He nodded down at her. In his confusion over Kelly's predicament Thomas had recalled Hoyt using CPR on one of their more attractive victims a couple months ago. The woman had been knocked out by an ill-aimed punch during a brawl involving her boyfriend and the sheriff. Of course Hoyt hadn't wanted to loss what he referred to as 'good fun', so he had naturally did all he could to restore the beauty to consciousness. Thomas had figured if he did the same Kelly would recover her breath.

Kelly managed to mutter a small thanks to her would-be savior as she suddenly remembered what had caused her distress. Her eyes shut while she sought to pull her racing thoughts together. Relief at being able to use her lungs properly mixed with an uncertainty of what she should do next and the overwhelming sense of helplessness that paralyzed her frame. Tension pierced through her core when she realized that she was no longer a proper guest but a hostage with no help nearby and no chance of escaping. Being in an unfamiliar place with people who now looked threatening had Kelly on edge. Her heart felt like it might rip out of her chest if she didn't do something with herself. Thomas apparently had the same idea.

"Thomas, you don't need to help me now; I'm fine, I'll walk upstairs myself." No response. _"Of course he wouldn't say anything. Way too much to ask of him…"_ His gesture had come at a bad time, but all Kelly could manage to do was fold her arms across her chest and wait for him to set her down. She got her wish when the pair reached his room. Over to the windowsill Kelly walked, almost jogged, and forced her mind to concentrate on the darkened world outside. She always had a slight fear of the dark ever since her parents' house was robbed when she was eight, but looking out at it now was soothing compared to whatever treatment she might be in for in the house.

Luda Mae entered with a stack of freshly washed bed sheets. "Oh good; I hoped you'd be up here by now. Its time for bed you two, no more runnin' around. I got y'all some nice new bedding to lay on." The elderly woman let a pleased smile spread across her face. "Take good care of your 'friend' Tommy. Goodnight." Her small body stood in the doorway a second longer than necessary.

Kelly got the feeling that she'd missed something important. Had Luda Mae winked at the man across the room? Out of the corner of her eye she watched Thomas glance at her before he carried the fresh sheets from the dresser to the floor by her bed's side. Off came the blanket, followed by the soiled sheets.

"Here, let me help you." Kelly sidled up to her captor and lifted the old bedding from his outstretched arms. She stood to one side of the bed and tucked the soft fabric under the aged mattress with expert skill. Thomas seemed opposed to her aid but didn't outwardly protest. It took a mere minute for them to finish making the bed. Once they were finished an awkward silence ensued. It had been quiet while the two had been working, but now that the task was done…

"Well then…" Kelly bit her bottom lip as she rested most of her weight to her right leg. _"Now what do I do? Don't want to upset him- wait. Where did the chair go?"_ The chair Thomas had used before was now painfully absent, making Kelly wonder if Mae or Hoyt had taken it elsewhere and forgotten to bring it back. Or maybe they hadn't forgotten at all.

"No, that can't be right." Her preoccupation with the situation had distracted her, causing her thoughts to escape their mental prison through her lips. Thomas' head tilted as confusion was made evident in his gaze. This was ignored by his companion; she was too busy pacing, her fingertips catching dust as they lightly brushed the windowsill. Kelly's imagination had developed several theories on the chair's fate by the time Thomas had ventured closer and taken a firm hold of her shoulders. He held her from him and looked into her eyes; he wanted an explanation for her behavior. She returned his stare without hesitation. "Thomas, where's your chair?"

He released her left shoulder, pointed downward, and then resumed his grasp on her in what Kelly interpreted as a possessive grip. Her squirming only made him tighten his hold while encouraging him to move closer to her.

Kelly couldn't hold herself back: "Cut it out! You're hurting me!" Her kind demeanor and polite nature had been exhausted by the day's events. Add the fact that his grip had made her muscles sore and the end product was a very irritated girl. He yanked his hands away from her, stepped back, and fixed a guilt-ridden stare at the wooden floor. Kelly massaged her right shoulder as she avoided viewing the hurt man in front of her; looking at an incredibly large dust bunny that the bed-changing had kicked up helped her to calm down.

"Look, Thomas," she barely whispered, "You seem like a nice guy and all, and I'm not really mad at you or anything, it's just…" Kelly paused as Thomas still did not make eye contact. "Think of it this way: if you were somewhere you'd never been before, all alone, and some people tell you that you could never leave again…how would that make you feel?"

Finally he lifted his eyes to the troubled girl. He searched her face as he tried to understand what she'd said. His attempts to comprehend her plight led him into a daydream. He imagined himself back at school, back in his eleven-year-old body and surrounded by his horrible classmates. He closed his eyes and fought to tune out their nasty comments and endless ridicule. Then a hush fell over the oppressive crowd of bratty adolescents; Thomas' eyes flew open as he searched the classroom. His teacher Mrs. Halbet was looking down at him with a cold, judgmental frown.

"Thomas, Mae called. You're going to be staying here for a while." She gave her student a sneer before joining in with the others students' laughter; laughter that was directed at him.


	10. Fitful Sleep

Thomas' POV

Thomas thought he understood how Kelly felt, but that wasn't going to change anything: he'd been friendless and alone for too long. She was going to stay here, with him, where he could always be near to her and see her smile again. She could forget about her family and her life before she'd come here…couldn't she?

"_Yes."_ He decided.

He'd help her to forget. If he could make her happy and show her that she belonged here then maybe she would call this home too. And Thomas would make her happy: ever since the meat packing plant had been condemned all he'd had to do most days was help his mother around the aging mansion. With no foreseeable real work in his future, he would have much more time available to him; time to spend with Kelly. She would come to understand him, to like being around his hideous physique, to...

Thomas couldn't bring himself to finish the thought; just considering the possibility that she would ever develop those feelings was too much for the societal outcast. He let his mind go blank as he resumed watching Kelly slumber. It must have been an hour ago when she'd yawned and announced that she needed to sleep. Convincing her to use his bed while he sat on the floor had been somewhat of a trial for him, but in the end she'd conceded and climbed atop of his mattress. It wasn't five minutes before consciousness had released Kelly from reality and given Thomas the freedom to study her for as long as he pleased, sans the possibility of getting caught and facing subsequent embarrassment.

The floor didn't take long to cause the hulking figure pain and discomfort. Try as he might to quell the ache in his back he knew it was a battle he couldn't win. After fidgeting around for a time Thomas reluctantly crept toward his bed while hoping that he wouldn't awaken its user. He went from standing next to the bed to sitting on its edge to finally laying on his side just a mere three inches from his sleeping beauty. Apprehension gave way to contentment as Thomas realized she wouldn't awaken and that he was deliciously close to his roommate.

This lucky vantage point allowed him a much improved chance to appreciate her features. He rather liked her hair; its color was both interesting and a rare find to him. The long auburn strands had to be the closest thing to silk that Thomas would ever behold. It was shiny, clean, and soft to the touch; his fingers caressed the reddish waves with a gentleness he'd never exhibited before.

After he finished moving the appropriate amount of hair from Kelly's face, Thomas retracted his hand in order to fully fix his eyes on her serene visage. Pale porcelain skin hinted that Kelly preferred to spend the majority of her time indoors, and the lack of freckles lent a radiant aspect to her complexion. Thomas' eyes swept over the light bags under Kelly's lowered eyelids and high cheekbones. Finally his tour of her countenance ended with her lips. These were a light rosy pink, and, from what he could see with the light from under the door, they were somewhat full and barely closed in sleep. He smiled at her from under his mask as he burned her image into his memory: he wanted to be able to recall this moment at will.

Overall her maturing face was what Thomas thought of as beautiful, but that also had to do with the fact that she'd been kind toward him. Her looks were ordinary, nothing exceptional, and the way her features had developed gave her a naturally favorable look.

Feeling fatigue overpowering his will to stay awake, Thomas slowly inched forward a ways before laying his head on the pillow directly beside Kelly's head. Because her face was oriented toward the ceiling, he didn't need to worry about his breathing troubling her rest. Thomas took a final glimpse of his companion before he was thrust into blackness.

Kelly POV

Something had shattered her dreams and brought Kelly back into reality, only for her to discover that Thomas was sound asleep next to her. He had twitched in his fitful dreaming and, as a result of his close proximity to the hostage, had succeeded in ending her REM cycle earlier than nature had intended. She suppressed a scream and her heart jumped at finding him so unbelievably close, but her body cared little who was nearby so long as she didn't have to get up. Kelly tiredly gave up on moving before she'd had an opportunity to do so.

"_Might as well leave it for now; I'm not going anywhere and he definitely isn't up to anything questionable."_ She shrugged off uncertainty at her resolution.

Her action triggered an observation that she'd been ignoring since earlier in the evening. During the day she'd complained about the stifling heat; now cold seemed to want some attention. A shiver erupted at the back of Kelly's neck and traveled the length of her spine.

"Gosh darn it." She mumbled to herself. In her initial stages of sleep Kelly had unknowingly pushed the blanket to what was now Thomas' side of the bed. There was absolutely no way that she could pull them over without waking him up, let alone do it at all unless he moved or helped by some other means. Not able to return to her dream world made Kelly a little ornery.

"_Oh I don't care anymore; I'll wake him up whether he likes it or not!"_ The large man's chest slowly rose and fell as Thomas continued to slumber, oblivious to the intentions of his shivering companion.

"I hate to wake you up, Thomas, but you seem to be hogging the covers." At least she'd said it somewhat quietly. She'd also made sure to keep her voice as pleasant as possible. Who knew how grumpy he'd be once he was awake this early in the morning.

A slight change in the pace of Thomas' chest movements was all that resulted from her outburst. Kelly sighed audibly- now she was irritated and impatient. Did she need an air horn to shake him out of dreaming?

"_Wonder what he'd dream about?"_ This had to be one of the more interesting questions that she'd posed to herself these past couple hours. It certainly was something to think about, Kelly determined, and she let whatever scenarios that her imagination created in answer to the thought fill her attention. After being distracted for a good fifteen minutes she returned to her prior objective; the young woman shook Thomas forcefully. Either she was weaker than she'd thought or Thomas was only half asleep, because when she'd finished shaking him awake all he did was blink at her twice before he'd raised his left arm, dropped it across her waist, and pulled her up against him.

"Um, Thomas…Thomas?" Kelly struggled a little but failed to move out of his embrace. The steady, regular thump of the man's heartbeat betrayed his return to sleep. It wasn't as uncomfortable as she'd thought it'd be, far from it: she was warm again, and having something to lean against as she dozed was nice. _"Could be worse."_ She shrugged to herself before slipping out of consciousness.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"It's not that I don't appreciate your generosity, Ma'am, it's just," Kelly paused while the older woman continued to hold a faded dress toward her. "It's not my style to wear dresses. They don't really suit me."

At that comment Luda Mae released a hearty laugh. "Of course it'll suit you- you're a woman! And proper women wear dresses!" The hostage moved to protest but Mae was one step ahead of her. "I will not accept any backtalk missy, now you get in there and change outta those pants. You don't want to keep lookin' like a man, would you?" The younger woman stormed into her new room, shut the door with a **bang** and threw the offered dress on the bedcovers.

She clenched her hands to her sides while willing her temper to lessen. She was infuriated; how dare that old bat tell her how to dress! _"As if cooping me up here wasn't enough of a pain; now she's treating me like a five-year-old! And now I've got to help her keep the house clean? She can just forget it…let her get Hoyt to yell at me! What do I care?"_ As her anger subsided she went to look out the window. The outside world was nice and sunny with fat, puffy clouds floating lazily across the sky's expanse. How she wished that it wouldn't be as hot so that she could take an enjoyable walk. Naturally she still wanted to leave, but since she knew she had no shot at going home she only let herself wish for other things. Like wishing that there were more trees that she could hide from the sun under. She'd noticed a clumping of full-grown trees a ways from the house at her arrival, but she didn't see Thomas taking her there anytime soon.

The purple and white plaid dress' pattern was agonizingly reminiscent of Dorothy's get-up from the _Wizard of Oz_ movie. It wasn't Kelly's idea of comfortable or stylish clothing at all, or at least not to her. No matter how much she might despise it Kelly knew without a doubt that she would have to wear it, so she quickly threw off her clothes and struggled to get into the confines of the new outfit. The dress was a tad small, fitting her chest a bit too snug, but she'd had worse things happen to her.

"_Not that bad. Hope the old bat leaves me be now…she has absolutely no idea how annoying it is for someone to police your personal sense of fashion!" _Kelly cleared her mind as she heard hushed voices in the hallway beyond her door. Like a small child eavesdropping on their parents, the young woman crept noiselessly to the door and held her ear next to the wall.

"Monty's gettin' better, but the legs still ain't lookin' too good…" Luda Mae's voice informed someone.

"Hell! Course his legs ain't lookin' good Ma! They got tore up only three weeks ago- don't worry, he'll be fine; Tommy'll take real good care of 'em." Hoyt's reassurance put an end to the conversation. Kelly swiftly made her way to the bedside; she made it just in time.

"Dear, are you decent? Oh! You look as pretty as a picture! Tommy'll love seeing this when he comes back up." Mae's head was sticking into the room and smiling at Kelly while the remainder of her body was hidden behind the old oak door. Her mention of Thomas brought to mind an inquiry Kelly had formed earlier that morning.

"Where is Thomas? I didn't see anything nearby on my way here." The old woman's smile waned as the question was given. Kelly could see in her eyes that Mae had become uneasy. She cleared her throat before answering.

"Well Dearie, Tommy has things to do you know, he can't spend all day with you. Besides," she strode over to the bed and leaned in conspiratorially, "you'll find out how hard it is to keep men from their playthings." She stopped short of giggling childishly. Kelly only returned her explanation with a mute stare. "We haven't got all the time in the world child. The kitchen needs swept, the dishes have to be washed, and I'm running behind on the laundry." Her captor disappeared through the doorway while Kelly maintained her spot on the bed.

A minute later Mae reappeared. "Didn't you hear me girl? Hop to it!" Being dragged down the stairs and to the kitchen by her wrist made Kelly wish that she had hopped to it sooner; the old lady's grip was a lot stronger than she'd expected from a woman of her stature. Once the pair had reached their destination Kelly's wrist was released and Luda Mae turned to face her helper. "Dishes are in the sink; lay a towel on the counter before you start washin' so there's someplace fer 'em to dry. Look around if you don't know where somethin' goes."

It took a second before Kelly realized that Mae meant to leave her alone in the room…right next to the door. Her building hopes were crushed as Thomas entered the scene from the hallway. He seemed surprised to have run into her because he stopped mid-step as his eyes connected with hers.

"Oh Tommy, Kelly's just washin' those dishes fer me. Watch her while I get the laundry folded." Luda Mae seemed to be pleased with herself as she exited the room.

**By the way, I obviously own neither the Texas Chainsaw Massacre story or characters, nor the Wizard of Oz characters. I do own OC's (Kelly and possible others later on). I'll work towards another chapter when I can; Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays everyone! ^_^**


	11. Housework

This couldn't be right. Things like this were supposed to happen to other people, people who had it coming. Nothing in Kelly's previously sheltered existence could have prepared her for this cruel turn of fate.

"_Well, maybe not something __**exactly**__ like this…but still, why do I deserve to be in this situation? I've never done anything wrong in my entire life!"_ Kelly put more effort than what was necessary into scrubbing the soapy plate she held. One quick glance over her right shoulder was all she needed to perceive that Thomas was still sitting at the table. He'd been sitting there since she'd started her delightful task, and although she had kept herself busy ignoring his silent presence, the majority of the dishes had moved from the sink's watery confines to the sunlit towel that lay on the counter. Soon Kelly would be out of work to keep her occupied; she could no longer pretend he wasn't there if there wasn't anything to use as an excuse.

A noise in the background grabbed her attention; Thomas was evidently tired of relaxing and had risen from his chair to accompany the redhead. He lifted the newly cleaned plate from her hands, grabbed another towel out of a drawer, and started drying it. Kelly hesitated in her duty to speculate at his accommodating gesture. She was grateful for his assistance but became a little annoyed when she wondered why he hadn't gotten up and helped before, when the dishes had sat in stacked ceramic towers.

"Don't worry about that Thomas, I'll get it myself." He turned toward her with an indecipherable expression upon his face. This wasn't the response he'd been looking for. Kelly took the last dish, a nicely decorated bowl with a flower-ringed edge, out of the dirty water and began working at the stuck on bits of whatever food had once graced it. She quickly discovered how hard it was to ignore Thomas when he was practically standing right over her.

"Could you please not stand so close? I like my personal space vacant, if you don't mind." Now it was her turn to be ignored, or at least her request had been. Thomas remained right where he was.

The young woman let an audible sigh escape her lips before shifting her body two steps to the left. _"Fixed it all by myself."_ Sarcasm was a welcome ease from her increasingly frequent flares in temper; instead of allowing her anger to build up she'd begun to direct her frustrations toward mental jokes aimed at her. Unfortunately all it could do was amuse her; it didn't do much else. Thomas had moved back to her side after Kelly'd enjoyed a momentary peace. She wouldn't shake him off so easily.

"What other chores did Mae mention? She said she'd get the laundry, and I did the dishes. So that leaves…sweeping." Kelly pointedly looked all around the room except for the part which Thomas occupied. An old yellow, plastic broom was propped up against a darkened corner of the kitchen next to some rickety shelving. Over to it she went, secretly hoping that Thomas wouldn't feel the need to follow her. To her relief he stayed next to the dish-laden counter.

Sweeping proved to be a bit difficult for Kelly. Thomas always seemed to get in her way, and each time she asked him to move he would immediately walk to an unswept section of the floor. Finally she reached the last portion of floor, with Thomas standing over it.

"_Naturally." _The petite woman looked up into the hulking figure's face. "Thomas, you're doing it again! I need to sweep here too."

"Gee Tommy; you need to work on impressing the ladies." Hoyt had let himself in through the kitchen door and paused to smirk at Kelly. He made a motion for his nephew to move then exited the room into the hallway. "Ma, me and Tommy need ya down here. We have visitors!" He had an odd gleam in his eyes which Kelly noticed as he looked toward the kitchen once before heading out the front door.

Kelly didn't have much time to observe Hoyt's behavior. Thomas had tensed at Hoyt's announcement and was looking worriedly down at Kelly. He fidgeted briefly as she made to finish her delegated job.

"Oomph!" Thomas had scooped her roughly into his arms, bridal style, and practically sprinted to the staircase and up to his room. The ride was not pleasant for Kelly, and by the time they'd reached his bedroom she felt like she'd been through an entire year's worth of manhandling. "Thomas! I wasn't going anywh-" The door slammed behind her; Thomas was gone and Kelly was left without an explanation.

"_What the hell is going on here? Does he randomly have spasms of paranoia? I don't think I can deal with him if he's…"_ Kelly's thought went unfinished as movement outside her window awakened her curiosity. A blue van had driven down the driveway and was now parked where her rented sedan had been yesterday. She walked slowly to the window, her hopes mounting higher with every step. "Oh my God; there are people here! They can take me with them; I'll get to leave this horrible house!"

She jumped into the air and clapped her hands in happy anticipation. Watching two pairs of teenagers disembark from their vehicle only augmented her excitement. She jogged to the bedroom door and reached out a shaking hand to turn the doorknob. It turned with a squeak in her hurried grip, but the door would not give. Its refusal to open drained away her exhilaration as she realized that she was trapped. Dropping to her knees and peeking under the door revealed a large piece of furniture, most likely a heavy table, blocking the path to her doorway.

"Damn!" Kelly slammed a fist on the floor then resignedly sat against the wall. How could she get to the newcomers downstairs? She knew she didn't have the strength to budge the obstacle even a smidgen, so Kelly didn't bother getting up.

Voices were filtering through the wooden floorboards to her; the guests sounded like they were lost too. A high pitched laugh sent a pang of longing burrowing into Kelly's chest; how she wished she could be down there right now, enjoying sane people's company and laughing along with them. A wild urge overpowered her at that moment: she'd shout and get their attention! Of course; why hadn't she thought of that earlier?

She had stood up to her full height, raised her hands to either side of her now open mouth, and inhaled sharply before an aggravating thought crossed her whirling mind. If the family here was messed up enough to hold her against her will, how dangerous would they become once their auburn-haired secret had been discovered? That mystery effectively silenced her. Hadn't Hoyt had a rifle in the passenger seat of his patrol car when they'd first met? She'd seen its black, shiny barrel leaning against the closed window's dusty glass when he'd turned his vehicle around. Kelly suddenly had a horrific daydream form in her head: Hoyt was running down the visitors with his gun swinging wildly in his hands. One by one the four people were shot or caught by Thomas, who faithfully dragged them back to the house where Hoyt was reloading his weapon. They had died, all because of her big mouth and futile shrieking.

The woman lowered herself back onto the hard floor in defeat. She didn't want her sickening fantasy becoming reality; if they were capable of abduction, then murder couldn't be far off.

"I'll just sit here quietly 'till they leave then…Thomas had better let me out the second they do." she thought bitterly to herself.

A scream punctuated the humid air, causing Kelly to give a start. "What's going on down there? Are they alright?" She frantically stumbled over to the window. The taller of the two boys Kelly had viewed before was on the ground with his hands raised over his head. A laugh again sounded from below, this time with a lower pitched voice forming it. She could detect malice in it; the laughter had to belong to Sheriff Hoyt.

"Good boy, looks like you learned yer lesson. Why don't you lay down on the ground fer me? Atta boy! Tommy! Get over here and help me with this: the girls can't have taken you this long!"

"_Girls? Tommy did something to the girls?"_ Kelly's eyes widened in horror as the outcome for the guests became excruciatingly clear: Thomas and Hoyt were going to either kidnap these people too or, and she hoped against hope that she was wrong, they were going to kill them.

Sorry for the wait, but life got in the way of creative progress today. Again, I do not own or claim any rights to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, its plot or its characters.

Look for another chapter later tonight…I've found that I do my best work around midnight. XD Enjoy!

~Naruillin14


	12. Death and Suffering

**Sorry for the delay everyone; Christmas is my favorite holiday so it has been hard for me to focus or sit still. Enjoy this latest chapter!**

**And for the record, I think that we are all aware of the fact that I do not own the Texas Chainsaw Massacre or any of its components. Kelly is my creation though ;-)**

Thomas knew the drill: wait in the basement with his chainsaw while Uncle Hoyt lured the unsuspecting victims into the house so Mama could distract them. The 'Sheriff' usually left whatever girls had come along with Luda Mae in the house and then asked the boys to help him with their vehicle. He was supposed to listen for Mae's "Tommy!" before making his way upstairs to take care of the girls. Uncle Hoyt usually did a pretty good job of weakening his charge, and Thomas knew better than to horn in on Hoyt's antics ahead of time: torturing people amused him, and his nephew wasn't about to cut his sadistic games short.

However, the system that the Hewitt family had almost perfected into a disturbing art of sorts had been challenged today. Hoyt hadn't given Thomas much warning, in fact it had been a mere five minutes until the lost teenagers had filed past the cop impersonator and into the house. The bulky man barely had time to rip Kelly from her sweeping detail and all but throw her hastily into his room, the only safe place in the house during this eventful hobby of theirs.

As Thomas awaited his mother's call from a rusty metal chair in the basement slaughtering room, he thought back to the last moments that Kelly and he had spent together in the kitchen. The grip he had on his trusted weapon tightened as anger reared its ugly head inside of him: Hoyt had been so stupid to mention the visitors in front of his Kelly.

"_My Kelly?"_ His thought caught him off-guard. Did he have that strong of feelings for her, or was she simply a distraction to him? Mama seemed to be taking her time with these passersby, so Thomas allowed his mind to wander for once.

He certainly felt different when he was around her; a feeling would spark deep down where only anger and loneliness had ever existed. It was unlike the negative emotions that had always tormented his soul and dominated his daily actions…he liked this new and uplifting sensation. Seeing her smile at him when she'd first arrived had sent a thrill of hope running up his spine, taking him by utter surprise. He'd been desperate to please her, to make her smile again, to make her his friend. Thomas wanted Kelly to like him; he could picture her hanging out with him without grimacing or making snide comments like everyone else did. His limited knowledge of her character told him that, despite some rude moments, she tended to be sweet and considerate of others…even of him. Her invitation to come inside her car had shown him just how kind she could be; she hadn't a clue what he was like or of his intentions back then. Thomas knew full well that he could have easily overpowered her small frame; she had to have known that as well.

"TOMMY!" Thomas snapped out of his musing at the sound of his mother's call. Eight seconds was all it took for him to pound up the stairs and another six before he'd reached the living room. Luda Mae sat in her favorite chair across from the two girls Thomas had heard talking excitedly earlier. Quickly he scanned the pair as he tried to discern which his uncle would like to play with more. He never had quite figured out what game Hoyt was playing with his selected prizes; all he knew was that it must've hurt for all of them to scream like that. Fleeting moments had passed by the time he'd determined that the Sheriff would find the blonde one more pleasing; he unceremoniously threw the average-built young woman over his shoulder after he'd knocked her friend out with a hefty back-handed slap to the face. Leaving Mae with the remaining and unconscious girl, Thomas travelled up the staircase as lightly as if he were carrying a feather. He halted for a brief span of time outside his bedroom door, glancing toward its bottom to discern any movement on the other side. Nothing moved, or at least Kelly wasn't close to the door. A trip to his uncle's room relieved him of his burden; the girl had done her best to fight back but to no avail. She was fastened to Hoyt's bed as easily as if she had cooperated.

**Crack!**

The firing of a nearby gun interrupted Thomas' return trip downstairs. Straining his ears for any mention of his name was fruitless; apparently the Sheriff hadn't gotten his fill of cruelty for the time being. The masked figure was just pleased that his anger was being spent and directed at something other than his nephew, which was usually the case. He ambled down the stairs, walked briskly to the living room, and greeted his mother with a sideways glance.

"Good job Tommy! Yer uncle's still playing outside with his toys, so why don't ya help me with this one quick? My poor back ain't what it used to be…" The elderly woman fixed a proud look on her adopted son as she checked for a sign that he'd understood. Thomas nodded then bent down to grasp the second girl's wrists; it wouldn't make any difference if he dragged her, especially if she wouldn't be awake to protest. Down into the basement she went, her fate decided and death soon to come.

He laid the visitor's limp body onto a wooden table that was outfitted with iron fastenings, one for each limb and a larger one for the neck. Nailing the shackles onto the roughly constructed stand was a necessary but tiresome task. When he'd finished Thomas returned to the home's ground floor and rejoined Luda Mae. Her smile, directed at the bulky man, faded as she followed his gaze toward the ceiling. He was obviously thinking about Kelly.

"Child," Mae's voice attracted Thomas' attention, "she's been real good; no noise-makin' at all, not even a scream…" Her attempt at reassuring her masked boy had instead seemed to make his worry worsen as a doubtful expression conquered his previously unreadable visage. Luda Mae sighed as an eager look gleamed in her eyes. "Go to her Tommy. She needs you right now."

Thomas' gaze shot to his mother. How could she possibly know if Kelly needed him when he himself was unsure whether or not she enjoyed his presence? He cocked his head to the side but left for his room when his mother gestured for him to do so.

Sliding the heavy oak table from his door was a small testament to Thomas' strength, not to mention willpower as he'd accomplished the task rapidly and without creating any noise whatsoever. Once that had been taken care of, he delicately placed his palm on the doorknob and turned it slowly.

The view into his room did not reveal any sign of Kelly. Dread overcame Thomas as he looked from the windows to the dresser. She hadn't gotten out through the glass-paned windows: these had been painted shut years ago and wouldn't have yielded to the relatively weak hostage. She wasn't hiding behind the dust-covered dresser either, its vicinity being devoid of life. The muscular being straightened his back as he racked his brain for a solution. Where could she have gotten to? The room had only one exit: the door which Thomas had hurriedly blocked before. The door, which was now open and unattended…the door!

He spun around just in time to watch a crouching Kelly made a mad dash toward freedom. His sudden movement had distracted her, and as her head turned toward his stature she stepped on the hem of her new dress. The woman tripped and fell to the ground. She felt her body being grabbed as she was forced onto her back; opening her eyes exposed an angrily shaking Thomas. The sentiment shone in his eyes and was made manifest in the clenching of his jaw and the way he balled his hands into fists at his sides.

He glared down at her as he shook his head violently from side to side, silently berating her for attempting to leave him. She had to learn not to try and carry out these pointless endeavors now; he didn't know how mad he would be the next time something like this happened. She shifted her terrified stare from his frowning, covered face to his right hand as he raised it above his head. He'd wanted to hit her, he was so angry at her. He saw her as his one and only cure for his loneliness and the only companion he'd ever have. He was certain that her escape would be a terrible blow, a loss that might kill him. Trying to leave was tantamount to betrayal in his eyes… from now on she would not go from this room without him by her side at all times.

As he studied her frightened face longer he realized that his anger was speedily cooling; he didn't want to cause her harm now, and the more he dwelled on what he'd been about to do, the more he became disgusted with himself. How could he strike her when she lay at his feet, motionless and defenseless? Yes: he'd hit many other people, some simply for coming into his home, but she was different from all the rest. Other people were only dumb cattle to him, waiting and asking to be slaughtered, but Kelly…she was a rare gem.

Something about her vulnerable pose softened his glare. Hesitantly he lowered his hand to her face so that she wouldn't interpret it as a hostile motion. When Kelly didn't take his offered hand Thomas changed his glare to an importunate gaze. His hand went lower still until it made contact with her pale cheek. He noted a quickening in the rhythm of her breathing as he gently brushed his knuckles back and forth against her soft skin. He smiled into his mask, relishing the feel of her smooth skin on his rough hands and the fact that she had done nothing to stop him or cry out. She'd even sustained eye contact as he towered over her.

Thomas knelt down so that he was closer to the object of his attention, bringing both arms from his sides to hang next to Kelly's reclining body. Gingerly he moved his right hand from her cheek to the back of her neck and positioned his left arm under the inside of her knees, lifted her from the hard floorboards, and set her down on his bed. Kelly's expression changed as well, going from confused and scared to quizzical.

"Tommy! Damn it boy, why aren't you comin' when I call ya?" Hoyt's shout caused Thomas to jump.

He afforded himself one last glance at the quiet auburn-crowned woman before rising to his full height and walking back out his door, shutting it behind him. He was halfway down the stairs when he realized that he hadn't replaced the table in the door's path. Thankfully, taking the table from its usual spot and forcing it into position didn't eat up very much time.

Thomas dashed the distance between himself and his uncle in less than ten seconds, making certain to bring along his chainsaw. He was met with an all too familiar scene, at least for his family: one of the young men was lying on the grass and clutching his knee. It was obvious that Hoyt had shot him there for who knew what; Thomas gave a brief nod to the sheriff wannabe as he gestured at the bloodstained chainsaw and then the wounded teenager. "Get 'em Thomas, he's all yours now."

The chainsaw revved to life as its hulking owner made heavy steps toward his victim. Just as he reached the now cowering boy Thomas froze. A sudden glance toward the house made his heart ache: he'd seen Kelly's figure standing in the window, watching the sick drama unfold below. She'd pulled herself away from the window when Thomas had looked up at her. No doubt Kelly had figured out what he was about to do; he wished in his grief-stricken mind that she wouldn't be repulsed by him now, that she would find a way to ignore or at least not fear this side of him. He vowed never to harm her as he'd wanted to when she had tried escaping; that was to be a thing of the past.

Another gunshot, farther off this time, brought Thomas' mind back to the work at hand. He looked down at the bleeding man who was regarding the chainsaw-wielding giant with a hopeful yet pleading face. The boy had interpreted his pause for reflection as a sign that Thomas was thinking about sparing him, so he flashed a friendly smile up at the masked visage, hoping to encourage the man to let him alone. This was not to be his lucky day: Thomas had tilted his head at the gesture but proceeded with his job anyway. Blood spewed from the arteries and veins which the weapon tore up as the murderer sawed off the thus far uninjured leg. Screams erupted from the teen's horrified countenance as he struggled fearfully on the dead grass. Using his hands to drag himself away was all the boy could handle, his blood pressure dropping toward dangerously low levels. The wail of the chainsaw pierced his ears as the metal teeth severed one of his arms from his body at what had been his shoulder. Nodding his head as he considered his handiwork, Thomas made the chainsaw roar ominously as he brought about his finishing touch: off came the boy's head, which was cut into from behind. The crunch of breaking bones on metal was something that the masked man had taken time to notice over the years, barely noticeable unless one knew to listen for it.

The broken corpse lay in the field as Thomas left to find Hoyt; his deranged uncle probably wanted him to deal with that other boy too, unless…

He rounded the corner just in time to see Hoyt kicking the second man in the chest as he sprawled across the ground, sputtering nonsense words and moaning in pain. Thomas dimly wondered if the sheriff had challenged him to a fight. Of course, being in a fight with Hoyt had never been fair or worth the energy to their victims; all had suffered at his evil hands and none had won their freedom doing it. Hoyt ceased his rough treatment of his bruised and battered sparring partner to glare at Thomas.

"I didn't call ya boy; why don't you help Mama with her cookin'? And get that boy out of the dirt to the downstairs before bugs get in 'im." He ignored Thomas' nod as he resumed taunting and cursing at his living toy. No emotion stirred in his soul as he watched the boy being mercilessly beaten and humiliated by his tormentor. Thomas saw this as retribution for the way he'd been treated as a child; since his classmates had gone off to live elsewhere with their families, he figured the next best thing was to make these visitors suffer in their stead.

Lifting each separated limb from the ground, the masked figure threw the boy's body parts into a large aluminum bucket. In addition to the bucket, he'd also retrieved a large, serrated knife from the kitchen when he'd gone to check on Mama. The girl who was fastened to the table in the basement hoarsely hollered up at him, believing that she was saved; he'd silenced her with a loud and violent stomp of his foot on the wooden floorboards above her. He'd become aggravated at the girl's action, not because he had a problem with her screaming; that had always been easy to block out. It was because the girl's excited yell had triggered his memory of Kelly peacefully sleeping next to him. The thought made his heart ache as he pondered whether she'd ever allow him to be that close to her again. Now, out in the blood-soaked grass of his backyard, he took his frustration and uncertainty out on his first victim of the day. Thomas cut the limbs up and then the torso until the body had disintegrated into manageable pieces. These were all placed in the bucket. All that remained at the spot as Thomas rose and stalked away was a puddle of blood which rapidly soaked into the dirt.

Kelly's POV

"_Oh God, what's he going to do to me?"_ Kelly could not tear her eyes away from Thomas' raised hand as she flattened herself against the floor. She squeezed her eyes shut, and the next thing she knew his slow, heavy breathing had neared her face. Something warm and slightly rough touched her right cheekbone, stroking it in a downward motion repeatedly and…soothingly. Her eyes opened to throw a puzzled look up at her captor. He continued to brush her warming cheek as he looked into her eyes. Kelly's mind went utterly blank; she could neither think nor summon a sarcastic remark, something she's always been able to do. All she was capable of at the moment was gazing into Thomas' brown eyes, which held a spark of what she assumed was satisfaction. She barely registered the feel of his hand that slid under her neck and grasped the small of her back, and the same went for the other hand that supported the backs of her knees. Lightly she was lifted from the floor; she felt weightless in his grasp until her back met the bedcovers.


	13. Comfort and Confusion

**My apologies for not updating as quickly as I would (and most likely you) have liked. Relatives are fun XD I'm aiming to have another chapter done by tomorrow night… with any luck my time will be undivided so that I can get this story moving. Thanks for reading, please R&R!**

**BTW: the Texas Chainsaw Massacre does not, and will never, belong to me…*sigh***

After Thomas had rushed out of their room for the second time that day, Kelly struggled to understand what exactly had happened between them. Mae's calls to her son went unheeded by the prisoner as her mind whirled about, brimming with a thousand different explanations for Thomas' actions. The earlier screaming from one of their visitors played back repeatedly in her head. Had Thomas been the reason she'd yelled for help? And if he was down there right now, inflicting more damage on the overly trusting couples, then logic dictated that he'd have no qualms whatsoever with harming just about anybody. Anybody, including her.

But why hadn't he hurt her?

"_Not as if I'm going to file a complaint. He looked close to it for a second there…" _Kelly felt sick to her stomach; she'd stumbled into a mad house and quite possibly the worst experience of her life, maybe even her last. Her body shuddered. Not only was she dumbfounded by what he had refused to do, she also wondered at what he had done: stroking her cheek as if it were a perfectly natural action to take was something Kelly could not have foreseen. She was sure that if it had been suggested as an option to her only yesterday that she would've scoffed with disbelief; Thomas didn't look like the gentle, sensitive type. And yet, when he'd grazed her cheekbone and looked into her eyes like that, Kelly had forgotten everything that should've made her push him away and remind him of her anger at being held here against her will. In fact, though she denied it even to herself at first, her attention had been wholly fixated on him; everything else in the room had seemed to have fallen into a black abyss, leaving only hostage and captor gazing at each other.

She sighed. The woman disliked dwelling on such confusing matters, especially where Thomas was concerned. She'd felt an odd twist of emotions during the encounter, namely some repulsion that the very back of her mind hadn't let go of and something else…something quite shocking to Kelly. She'd felt a wave of warmth spread through her at his touch, starting in her chest and flowing into every part of her motionless body. Her breathing had quickened, and the thumping of her heart against its ribbed cage had menaced her attempts toward maintaining some trace of composure.

There was no time to search her inner self for more answers: an abrupt rumbling from the front lawn beckoned Kelly to her window. Outside, standing a couple yards from the front of the three-storied mansion, was Thomas. Something large and clumsy-looking was held in his hands, the weight of the thing making his massive shoulders and arms flex under the almost threadbare shirt he wore. A leg moved into Kelly's line of sight; it became apparent that her captor was blocking her view of whoever seemed to be lying on the ground in front of him. What was Thomas doing with…a chainsaw? Squinting at the figures below her confirmed that her guess was correct, and that confirmation bothered the redhead very much. A gasp issued from her already racing chest as her mind yet again added two and two together. He was planning on killing the person in front of him, or at least horribly mutilating them!

"Dear God; why's he doing this?!" Kelly's choked up voice bounced around the room, creating a short-lived echo that seemed to mock her concern and terror. As the echo died its scornful existence was replaced by the tremulous and distant roar of Thomas' beastly weapon. Her hands speedily covered her gaping mouth as her eyes widened in horror; suddenly she sensed a new fright wash over her as Thomas halted mid step in his advance closer to his intended victim. He turned his face unexpectedly to meet her gaze: the movement made Kelly's breath catch in her throat. She quickly discovered that she needed to put some distance between herself and the now menacing window so that she might regain her gasps for air. Down onto the floor she fell, feeling no compulsion whatsoever to get back up. The screaming from beyond her prison's window was drowned out by the ominous, chilling howl of the killing machine, and Kelly's forehead hit the tops of her knees as she pulled herself inward. Sobbing made the emotional pain and devastating anxiety much worse, she felt, most likely because prior to this she'd stupidly chosen to bottle up her feelings instead of allowing herself to cry or at least scream into the only pillow in the room.

The tears streamed down her reddened face uncontrollably for what Kelly thought must've been the better part of an hour. A second gunshot, this time from the eastern end of the house, hadn't done much to bring her out of the continual weeping that filled the lonely room with sounds of her hoarse anguish. She eventually calmed down and focused on keeping her mind blank and alert: thinking was too painful but she couldn't give herself free rein in LaLa Land either. What she needed to do first and foremost was learn to think on her feet and secondly to hone her powers of self control. Freaking out might lead to a death sentence…although just about anything might if they'd already decided to kill her. This train of thought went full circle, back to a mystery Kelly had sought to solve earlier.

"_Why haven't they killed me? They seem to murder anyone who passes through, even if they're innocently looking for help."_ Oddly, Kelly didn't feel relief as she considered her arrangement once again. She felt an uncertainty at the out-of-place decision, or at least what she thought was out of place for this sadistic family. The dread the woman was experiencing was somewhat akin to the drawn-out tension and bewilderment which was the fare of many very ill people before doctors could determine what was wrong with them.

Her extensive battle with horror and stress had completely depleted Kelly's energy level. Try as she might, and she fought the urge fiercely, the captive's head soon nodded in a deep sleep.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was three short hours that passed between the time Kelly had fallen to sleep and when she ultimately woke up. The sheets of the bed had wrapped themselves around her and she'd found herself ensnared in the bedcovers as well. Wait…what?

"I'm in bed." It was more of a statement than a question, mainly because Kelly's sore throat had protested when she had forced words through it. Not wishing to strain her voice any farther, she resumed her long-held silence and made her mind up to be content with simply looking about her room.

"Not my room…their room. Nothing here belongs to me, and vice versa." Irritation passed over her features but was soon replaced with a stoic expression. If they were going to toy with her, she'd make certain to make the game as unsatisfactory for her 'hosts' as humanly possible.

The air outside had cooled as evening approached the Hewitt residence: the clinking of china plates and muffled voices from downstairs revealed that dinner was in the works. The bedroom was saturated with the aroma of roasting meat, from what source Kelly could only guess. That is, if she hadn't been interrupted.

"Dearie, you're awake." Luda Mae entered the just unlocked room. She placed her hands atop her hips and stopped just next to Thomas' bed to smile down at the seemingly placid prisoner. "Dinner's just about ready; make sure you smooth out yer dress real nice for the family meal. Thomas'll be up soon."

"I can come down by myself, I don't need his help."

Luda Mae's eyes narrowed in response to Kelly's rude statement. "Don't you start givin' my boy trouble young lady! He's been nothin' but sweet to you; the least you could do fer him is look nice."

"He kills people! How the hell do you expect me to be nice to him when, for all I know, he could be planning to kill me?!" Kelly's mouth had gotten away from her; before she had had time to regain control she'd given lip to the old woman. _"I'll get it for sure now!"_

She squeezed her blue eyes shut, fully expecting a slap to the face or to hear Mae call Thomas to get rid of her. Instead she felt slightly cold but strong fingers grip her chin and force her face to look at an upward angle. Kelly opened her eyes: Luda Mae was giving her the most serious gaze she'd ever seen.

"Just 'cause he's gotta find different food fer his family don't mean nothin'; the world made him do this." Luda Mae paused to make sure Kelly was listening to her. "And the only reason why yer alive right now is 'cause he's takin' a likin' to ya. He just wants a friend." Exasperation weighed on the elderly woman's voice; apparently Mae had hoped Kelly would have taken to their plan a little better than this.

Kelly was thunderstruck; so he didn't want to kill her. Was it due to her easy-going nature that she now found herself the sole exception to the family's grisly operation? That friendliness had stood in the way of her and certain death…and now she was tempting fate by acting in a manner contrary to what had saved her? _"How incredibly stupid of me! I mean, I can't ever really get over the way they've treated me…but things could've been, and could be, a hell of a lot worse."_

Luda Mae's hard stare lessened as a shadow of fear darkened Kelly's visage. "Oh child, yer just confused is all. I know its hard startin' fresh in a new place, but don't worry: you got me an' Tommy an' Hoyt. Monty too. We're all here fer ya."

Kelly blinked. "Monty? I haven't seen anyone else here."

"Oh, he's here Dearie…just havin' a hard time, what with his legs bein' in the state they are."

"What's wrong with his legs?" The younger woman then added, "Not to be nosy or anything…I'm just curious." She'd seen Luda Mae's face wrinkle into a frown when she'd asked about Monty's condition, and now she feared that the older woman was getting impatient with her questioning.

"Some biker lunatic got it in his head to try and rob us a couple of weeks back. Poor Monty was gettin' up from napping when the man came in; got shot tryin' to warn us." Mae's frown deepened at the unpleasant memory. "Thank goodness Tommy was home. My boy took care of 'em both: killed the biker and looked after Monty real nice. Too bad Monty's leg had to come off…" Her voice trailed off as she moved closer to her audience.

Of course, Luda Mae was lying to Kelly, and she knew it. But telling the already stressed out girl the real story would only make matters worse. Besides, Kelly had no way of knowing any better at all, no method of finding out the truth about that fateful night. The biker had come for his girlfriend, who had been shot and killed by Hoyt, and ended up attacking the impersonator when he discovered his partner's end. Thomas had had to intervene when the enraged loner had cornered the sheriff in a room upstairs, and that had been the end of it. Unfortunately, Monty had been shot in the process. That much of her story had truth to it.

"Well child, I'll be gettin' to the kitchen now; stew's gonna be ready soon." The gray-haired figure turned toward the door, and then looked back at Kelly from over her shoulder. "I found some more dresses fer ya; you can get 'em after supper." A smile crept onto her wrinkled features as she began humming to herself, all while the elderly woman crossed the room and locked the aged wooden door behind her.

Kelly sighed. _"I'll take a wild guess as to whose dresses they were."_ Thinking about wearing a dead person's clothing caused a nauseous feeling to penetrate Kelly's stomach, and she found that the ravenous hunger which she was fighting off before had mostly subsided into a dull throbbing. _"Wonder what's for dinner? Wait. What had Luda Mae said about 'different food' earlier? The hell did she mean by that?"_ Her internal inquiry was interrupted by a series of poundings on the staircase: someone was eagerly making their way to her small prison. Sarcasm filled her startled mind: _"Who could that possibly be? Does their name begin with a 'T'?"_

Thomas pushed open the thick door, his bulk filling the doorframe as he stepped through in. His breathing was haggard and faster than what was typical of him; evidently he'd been busy this last while. He did nothing for a few seconds, obviously trying to return the pace of his breathing to normal. However, the man kept his eyes locked on his roommate as he did so. Kelly avoided his forward gaze and fidgeted on the bed, attempting to find a comfortable position which she knew she couldn't achieve while being watched so closely. It soon became clear that Thomas' inhalation was back to its steady, deep rhythm, but he remained in the doorway and continued to stare. Finally Kelly had had enough of the unsettling silence.

"Is dinner ready yet? I'm not that hungry but I have a feeling that Mae'll make me come down anyway…" Though she had deliberately kept her line of sight away from Thomas, she could just catch a shift in his demeanor at her words. Into the room he walked at long last, coming slowly toward her then stopping a few feet away. His form bent down at the hip so that his face came lower and closer toward hers. She forced herself to move her gaze onto him; he shook his head in answer to her first question. Kelly didn't bother to wonder at his prolonged stay at the doorframe, figuring that he was just odd. She was content to leave it at that.

"So we're just waiting then?" Kelly's muscles visibly tensed as Thomas made to come nearer to her. Apparently he'd noticed her marked distress because he retreated quite suddenly, stopping when his body backed into the nearby wall. He leaned against it, crossed his arms casually, and then cocked his head to the right while maintaining his look over at Kelly. The impression he was giving her was one of playfulness, and that change in attitude almost made Kelly smile. _"Just what is he up to?"_

An idea gripped the woman's attention: maybe she should play along; after all, it was Thomas' inclination toward her that had saved her life. Even though he was a murderer, there was absolutely nothing she could do to change her situation; he had shown her kindness and nothing less. Kelly sighed, and then allowed the smile that had made the corners of her mouth twitch to manifest itself in its entirety. It was an amused and kind smile, the kind Kelly was used to giving friends and family.

Thomas noticeably straightened as he caught sight of her countenance. He abandoned his post at the wall and again came toward her. The redhead fought down the anxiety that washed over her while keeping her body somewhat relaxed as he drew nigh. This was difficult to do: flashes of what she'd seen outside her window just that afternoon played repeatedly in her mind's eye as snatches of desperate screams accompanied the visual. She shook her head, effectively dismissing those memories from her wits. Once the mental struggle was finished Kelly resumed her silent pose.

A pair of calloused fingertips met her cheek, and Kelly started at the familiar touch. Her eyes shot to peek up at Thomas'; his own eyes held a worried look as he searched her face. What he was thinking now Kelly could only guess at, but she decided to let him do what he felt he must. So she continued to sit on the bedside, neither objecting to his motion nor flinching away from her fretful captor. Shaking her head had revealed to Thomas that she was upset, and he now wanted her to explain why.

"Thomas," It had been surprisingly easy to say his name, "I saw what you did today, out on the lawn. Why did you hurt those people when all they did was ask for directions?" Her eyes shone up at him as tears formed, threatening to stream down her blank face. He furrowed his brow and started to gesture an answer then stopped. Frustration gleamed in his dark eyes as he looked at Kelly again. Suddenly he rose from the bed, turned toward his companion, and hoisted her up from her sitting position. He held at arm's length for a fleeting second before pulling her into an embrace. His arms wrapped tightly around Kelly's stunned form in an effort to convey his message. The hug felt both possessive and protective to the baffled woman, who couldn't settle on whether she should struggle against his action or just let him hold her. She was up against him, her head resting on his substantial chest. A rhythmic beat trembled from behind his starched shirt: his heartbeat created a constant ebb and flow of pressure on her ear, which was next to Thomas' upper body.

The oddest aspect of the whole affair, Kelly faintly registered, was the fact that her body no longer screamed at her for being so close to the man she'd watched brandish a chainsaw. In fact, her person had relaxed of its own accord without having to give into Kelly's will to suppress her anxiety.

She felt his chin rest on the crown of her head and his chest rise and fall as he let out a pleased sigh.

"_Whoa."_ Kelly shocked herself by removing her arms from their resting place at her sides and embraced Thomas' waist with them. The beating of his heart consequently changed to a faster tempo in her ear, and the predictable rise and fall of his rib cage was disrupted. Then his arms flexed, his hug tightening on Kelly.

She felt…safe. Something else too, but she found that she needn't think about what the other emotion was as a rush of heat warmed and reddened her cheeks.

No, she shouldn't feel this way, this was wrong! Kelly tore herself out of Thomas' reach and cast her shameful eyes to the ground. She knew that he was confused, most likely staring at her, but she couldn't bring herself to look at him, the heartless madman who she had permitted to hold her.

"I'm sorry…I can't…you're a killer." She stammered uneasily at the wooden floorboards. The silence that had reigned over the room for the majority of that day, most days actually, had reclaimed its domain. Thomas stood where they had been hugging just moments before, his hands held awkwardly in front of him. An offered hand was ignored, and he pulled it back toward him in embarrassment. "I know you want a friend, Tho-," Her voice cracked: this time around she just couldn't speak his name. She cleared her dry throat, which felt as though a lump was growing inside it, and resumed talking.

"I don't think that I can be that friend. I don't know how to feel."

Nothing moved in the heavy, smothering quiet of the room. The progressing difficulty in breathing wasn't due to her asthma, Kelly knew, but was owing to the sinking feeling that now dominated her chest region. What would become of her now? Would Thomas torture her, even kill her in his anger? Was he even feeling anything right now, or he just as confused as she was? The idea of being killed was naturally unappealing to her, but Kelly could not take back the words she'd spoken. In actuality she was barely aware of some relief at having been frank with him; she concluded that this would've happened eventually, and if she was meant to die here then she had no way of stopping fate.

Kelly was so engrossed in her musings that she almost completely missed the slam of her room's door as Thomas quit the space. She was stunned when she came out of her thoughts and finally noted his absence. _"Where did he go?"_

A muffled sound brought her to the window; Thomas was sitting on the grass below, hunched over and breathing quite loudly. Standing over him was Luda Mae, who seemed to be humming some old tune in an effort to comfort the inconsolable man. He didn't appear to be crying but it was obvious that he was disconcerted…and all because of what Kelly had said to him when all he had tried to do was ease her tension. It was hard to do this to him; despite what he'd done to other people, despite the atrocities he had committed, she was clearly aware of his kind, even polite, actions toward her.

Was she truly right to treat him this way? Should she ignore his questionable activities and focus on showing him gratitude instead? Or should she stick to her morals and just be civil toward him until help arrived or, heaven help her, she died? Kelly returned to the lonely bed and buried her face in her trembling hands.

As she lingered on the questions, she couldn't help but sympathize with Thomas. One thought kept nagging at her until at length she focused on it:

Had he always been as alone as she was now?


	14. Decided

**I know, I know…I haven't been updating on a daily basis like I'd wanted to. I've been trying to lengthen my chapters; y'know, fatten 'em up. Enjoy this latest installment!**

**Disclaimer: I do not, repeat, do not own any of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Duh.**

A span of three minutes saw Kelly's deep confusion diminish as a resolute determination settled on her features. Those minutes had seemed like hours to the young redhead, and she had thoroughly contemplated all her options in their entirety. Only one had emerged as the sole viable method for her continued survival, not to mention that it alone had appealed to her conscience.

Another minute and she had risen off the bed, looked outside the window onto the still pitiful scene below, and firmly made up her mind. She crossed the room to the door and tried the handle. In his grief Thomas had neglected to tend to his duty, leaving both the doorknob unlocked and the door itself unobstructed. Hesitantly Kelly opened the door, hoping against hope that Hoyt or that Monty person weren't anywhere nearby. She'd hate to run into them, especially if she was unaccompanied-something about Hoyt made her glad for Thomas' company…the sheriff disturbed her for reasons she couldn't explain or identify.

When no one yelled or otherwise greeted her, Kelly slunk down the wooden stairs; upon reaching the ground floor the woman gave the downstairs hallway a contemplative look. Her memory of the home's front was hazy and rushed at best. How was she supposed to find anything? Kelly frowned: she should have thought through this better when she'd been in the safety of Thomas' bedroom.

"Damn! Maybe the kitchen…no, that's the bathroom." She recalled Hoyt's gesture to the small door when she'd first set foot in the Hewitt's house…before everything had gone so horribly wrong. "So there's the bathroom, and _that's_ the kitchen at the end of the hall…but how to get outside?"

Certainly she could exit the mansion by using the front door, but then her captors might see her and think she was trying to escape, and she didn't want to give the wrong impression. Kelly froze as she replayed that last concept in her head. _"I'm not trying to leave? Oh wow, they got me good. I must really feel for Thomas."_ Strangely her recognition of that sentiment made a laugh rise in her throat, but she fought it down before it could reach the open air beyond her mouth.

Breaking free of her ruminations, Kelly sneaked to the doorway and into the quaint kitchen. Finding it empty, she released a sigh of relief before she spotted another door, this one leading to the lawn. Nervousness at what she was about to do slightly numbed her body while her heart began to race as she stepped nearer to the flimsy exit. Everything slowed down around her: the cricket orchestra's tempo, the rush of her blood in her ears, the hand which she faintly recognized as her own as it rose to grasp the handle…

And then she was standing past the doorframe, feeling the cool wind caress her heated face. She closed her eyes at the pleasant touch, taking deep and shaky breaths. She knew that her objective, the reason she'd come down here, had not yet been realized, but she couldn't pass up or ignore this moment of peace. As she reopened her sky-blue eyes her gaze came to rest on the pair she'd watched from her window, both only a couple feet away. It was a wonder that they hadn't noticed her come out; apparently Thomas had refused to move himself from his seated position on the parched, yellow grass. Luda Mae spoke to him in fervent whispers, attempting to convince her son to come inside. Kelly heard her say something about tea. An image of Thomas seated at a fancy table with a fine china teacup in his abnormally large hand caused Kelly's body to shudder: holding in laughter was a hard thing to carry out at the moment.

A jerk of Luda Mae's hand made her amusement die in her throat and her left hand clap over her mouth. It rapidly became evident that the jerk was only meant to augment whatever topic the elderly woman was discussing with, or rather speaking to, Thomas about. Kelly's form lessened its sudden rigidity: now was the time to make her presence known, before she was discovered.

"Thomas?"

Luda Mae turned around to face Kelly so abruptly that the younger woman thought she'd fall over. Meanwhile, Thomas had lifted his head and fixed the auburn-headed prisoner in his sights. Both said nothing, each staring at their unexpected visitor. Kelly shifted her weight onto her right foot as she leaned to the side; inhaling deeply, she cleared her throat and pressed on.

"Luda Mae? Can I talk to Thomas alone please?"

The old woman blinked at Kelly while a look of uncertainty crossed her countenance. She began to wring her wrinkled hands as she looked from Kelly to Thomas, who only stared at the captive in undecipherable silence. Finally the adoptive mother left them alone, walking briskly past Kelly and into her warm, brightly lit kitchen. Apparently she'd convinced herself that the redhead wasn't going to make a run for it.

Kelly waited for the **thump** of the closing door behind her before she slowly walked toward the resting figure in front of her. As she got closer Thomas' face turned away from her direction as he shifted his gaze toward the oncoming twilight. Not quite knowing what to do, Kelly joined him in admiring the diffused layers of purples, pinks, and light reds which adorned the heavens. White pricks of light pierced the ribbons of color, announcing that night would soon fall. It was a breathtaking sight, so much so that Kelly didn't realize she'd lowered herself onto the prickly ground next to her hulking kidnapper. Five more stars had shimmered into existence by the time she had remembered that she was viewing the sky from beyond her painted-shut window. She glimpsed Thomas' head turning toward her out of the corner of her eye. Choosing her words carefully, Kelly faced him and said what she'd come down to say.

"I've been thinking about what I said to you earlier Thomas. Maybe I was wrong when I said that I couldn't be your friend. I've seen what you are capable of, the way you tormented other people, but you've only shown me kindness and respect. I want you to know that I'm grateful for that, that I really appreciate you taking care of me. I'm sorry for…"

He made eye contact, his eyes looked hopeful. She couldn't be sure, but Kelly thought she spied a movement behind the leather mask: was he smiling at her? She swallowed then spit the last part of her statement out.

"I'm sorry for hurting your feelings."

At that final sentence she knew that Thomas had forgiven her, or at least he was no longer as upset or angry. He pulled her into a hug even as he was still seated on the grass, his deep breathing tousling her hair and his heartbeat throbbing in her ear as he held her close. This time Kelly didn't dare pull away, but instead hugged Thomas back and let him press her against his muscular form. His arms tightened around the small of her back in an almost desperate grip, as if he was afraid that she'd run or disappear if he held her in a looser grasp. Kelly settled in, figuring that she might as well, and discovered that it felt good: she was comfortably warm. This reminded her of her childhood visits to her mother's parents; they would let her fall asleep next to the lit fireplace and bundle her up tightly in a soft cotton blanket. She had loved the wintry nights at Grandma and Grandpa's cabin so much.

Kelly inhaled softly then squeezed her eyes shut: she wanted to hang onto this familiar feeling for as long as she possibly could. A shy smile spread across her face, pulling the corners of her mouth toward the dimples which rose on her cheeks.

Thomas' POV

The hug that Kelly had shared with Thomas had banished her hurtful words from the previously troubled man's mind. He'd indulged himself in holding her, feeling her small frame push against him with every breath she'd drawn into her own chest, enjoying the silkiness of her hair as it'd brushed his exposed neck. At first she had trembled, probably in surprise, but the longer the pair hugged the more Kelly had relaxed, until at last Thomas had been certain that she was finally at ease. This pleased him almost as much as her unexpected appearance and following apology had.

Kelly loosened her embrace around his middle, allowing the masked man to peer downward at her. She slumped backwards, exposing her neck to him as her head tilted away, facing the starry sky. Gingerly Thomas brought one of his hands from her waist to the back of her head, raising her calm visage so that he could more easily study it. She had fallen asleep in his arms.

The light from a kitchen window hit her porcelain skin, giving the impression that she shone with her own light against the intensifying darkness. Her eyelashes made dark half-moon lines in the otherwise pale outline of her features. Shiny auburn curls framed her serene expression; the memory of its softness prompted Thomas to run his index finger through a strand, which had been resting lightly on her neck.

"_She wants to be my friend."_ Thomas recalled Kelly's stated decision with happiness. He cocked his head as his eyes idly trailed across her face. He did so only absentmindedly; an idea had crossed his unburdened mind.

Kelly's sleeping form rose from the grass it had graced as Thomas' arms lifted her upward, her weight doing little in the way of exercising his developed physique as he brought her onto his lap. Wrapping his arms around her again, he unconsciously nodded at her slumbering existence and became certain that this was a vast improvement over the slightly awkward embrace they'd shared prior to this. Her rib cage labored in his grasp; he wondered whether he should wake her or not…

**Slam!**

"Get in here boy! Dinner's gettin' cold!" Damn that man! Hoyt always seemed to ruin whatever pleasant moments Thomas could come across. He didn't look at the source of his annoyance; instead the man fixed a glare down at the stirring girl in his now tense hold. Sky blue eyes peered into brown ones through a weary, heavy-lidded countenance. The anger in his features startled her; she straightened against him, not recalling being in this position.

"What? What did I do?" Fear entered her questioning gaze even as his glare softened into a rare amused look. He flashed a reassuring grin down toward her, at least what could be seen of it for the patched leather covering. Thomas hoisted the reclining woman to her feet then wrapped his fingers around her wrist before pulling her toward the warmed house.

"Remember what I said about this whole thing Tommy?" Hoyt still stood next to the kitchen door, arms crossed over his badged front as he glared at the approaching pair. Thomas faltered in his walk to the house as he tried to determine where his uncle was going with the question. He grew uneasy as he detected the sadistic tone in Hoyt's next sentence. "I said she'd better not get in my way. And right now," he took a threatening step toward the girl at Thomas' side, "she's gettin' in the way of my dinner."

"What's he talking about Thomas?" The concerned blue eyes stared beseechingly into the masked man's features; he raised his eyebrows at Kelly before stepping between her and Hoyt. Thomas held an arm to Kelly's side in a shielding stance as he slid his focus back onto the sheriff. The awkward standoff lasted only a minute, broken solely by Luda Mae's call.

"Would you boys quit yer fussin' and get in here? Men."

The auburn haired woman nudged Thomas in the back, lightly pushing his massive frame in the door's direction. Kelly wanted to get inside as soon as possible: her intuitive side told her that there'd be trouble if they were out with Hoyt for too long. Besides, the warmth and light of Mae's kitchen just beckoned to her.

Thomas took Kelly's hint and began to walk toward Hoyt and the house's back door again. Although his ever-silent nephew towered above him without aid, Hoyt stubbornly stood his ground, permitting neither Thomas nor the woman he was protecting to enter.

"Lemme see the girl boy. I need to talk to 'er." Hoyt's thin lips cracked into a stretched, unpleasant smile as he glanced at Kelly. Thomas hesitated, apparently dreading the thought of handing over his new friend to the morbid man. He let his hand suddenly drop to his side which effectively exposed the woman, who'd been enjoying his presence, to the cop. _"Might as well…he won't do anything to her if I'm here."_

Hoyt straightened up, puffed out his chest ever so slightly, and sauntered over until his face was a foot away from hers. The wrinkled man smelled strongly of sweat and tobacco, an odor that disgusted Kelly; it took all she could to hold down her urge to gag.

"Look here little miss," Hoyt's smile distorted into a chilling sneer, "I let Tommy have ya only if he kept ya outta my way and my business. I don't wanna have to tell you again; next time there'll be hell to pay." Suspecting that an argument was not in order, Kelly nodded and then hung her head. "Good; least she ain't stupid like you, huh Tommy?" A cackle issued from Hoyt's toothy smirk as he turned away. "We're comin' Ma! Serve me some stew while yer waitin'."

Thomas' fiery glare could've burned a hole clear through the back of Hoyt's head. How dare he make fun of him, and right in front of Kelly no less? Thomas' hands formed fists that he might've pummeled into his unsuspecting uncle had Kelly not stopped him. The sound of mild coughing from behind the hulking figure caused Thomas to glance backward.

Kelly was looking up at him with a knowing expression. What she whispered to him made Thomas shriek with laughter…on the inside anyway.

"As much as the bitch deserves it, don't. He's just mad because he never got a date."

Her hand barely grasped his right wrist, and with that Thomas decided to let Hoyt off the hook…at least this time.

The three people walked into the house in a single-file line, a considerable gap existing between the snickering leader and the two who trailed behind him in silence.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinner had been uneventful, thank goodness. Everyone present had attended only to their food and the occasional look around the table. Kelly had expected idle chatter or perhaps some questioning about her past, but no one seemed to be in a talking mood. She had mentally thanked heaven above for her diet when she'd caught sight of what her abductors had on their plates: the meat looked like steak cuts she'd gotten from her grocery store, but as Kelly knew their true source…she shivered while she dwelt on her memories. The 'food' they ate couldn't repulse her any more than it did now.

That ordeal had come to an end; not as soon as Kelly had wanted, but at least she'd had tough enough nerves to sit through it all.

Mae had seen to the dishes, even with Kelly's offer to help her. "No, go on to bed Dearie. You've had a long day." Shrugging at Luda Mae's retreating form, the younger woman turned to her roommate.

"Guess its time I turned in." She looked upwards at his masked face with an expectant expression.

Thomas nodded at her, took her slim wrist in his hand, and led her toward and up the stairs.

**Again, I apologize to you darling readers...the relatives from my Dad's side descended upon my house for New Year's like a SWAT task force. XD  
****I'll be home this coming week (alone!) so expect more chapters to be added on. As always, thanks for reading! Please review: I enjoy reading your opinions, but by all means do not feel like you have to...I'm not going to threaten you as other authors might. I hate when people post that...lol. Happy Belated New Year's!**


	15. Revelations

**Another day, another chapter. Hopefully this will hold you over until I can pull the next installment out of my imagination and commit my ideas to paper (or rather a screen). Enjoy :D  
Side note here: I'm thinking about posting a poll about a plot twist ahead. Be sure to check it out after the next chapter! As always, review my loves. On with the story!**

The man sat at his desk, his hand scribbling out notes to himself about everyday mundane things. Groceries he needed to get, a reminder to ask for his new doctor's office hours, and something that was illegible to anyone but Edward.

Call sis tomorrow.

In their younger years Kelly and Edward had looked much more alike; but of course that had been before his older sister's hair had darkened into that beautiful shade of auburn and prior to Edward's growth spurt and appearance of facial hair. His skin's tone had deepened into a tan that Kelly would most likely never develop, and his eyes were hazel, not a piercing light sky blue. He'd enjoyed picking on her for not reaching his height again, even after she'd gotten through her own surge of growth. She'd hated those jokes.

It was a Wednesday today. Edward had come home from work at seven o'clock, eaten take-out from a favorite Chinese place of his, and then climbed into a lukewarm shower promptly at eight-thirty. He had a schedule, a carefully wrought system, and he stuck to it as if he would die should he neglect to do so. Kelly was the same way, forming her own daily routine after she'd gone off to college last fall. The two of them could still agree on that one thing at least; they had been close as children, but as time had gone on they had slowly drifted apart. Edward somewhat regretted leaving their hometown so soon after he'd graduated from high school, but he'd needed his independence, not to mention he'd had a desire to live in a warmer area of the world. New York's idea of winter was a couple months too long and a few degrees too low for the athletic young man to handle.

The room that Edward had designated as his study wasn't very large, but he'd never had a penchant for loftier spaces. He preferred the perceived coziness of smaller rooms; in fact, that had been the main reason he'd bought this particular house…besides its close proximity to his employer. All that distinguished the white-walled, rectangular room as a study were the mahogany bookcase on its western wall, a desk embellished with a dusty stack of books along with magazine clippings and a small alarm clock, and the faded cloth chair which Edward currently sat upon. Darkness had crept from the corners of the room along the carpeted floor until Edward sat in an almost engulfing blackness. Twilight had come and gone.

He sighed; wishing once more that he'd spent his money on that cream-colored lamp in the store window instead of taking another helping of sticky rice, and then rose from his dismal surroundings. The kitchen was bright and cheery, those things that a kitchen should always be. Again he sat down, this time at his second-hand two person table, and cast an undetermined look toward his phone, which hung on the wall next to the old stove.

"_Should I just go ahead and give her a call now? Maybe she's up late with friends…"_ he paused. _"Or maybe she's asleep already…"_

At length he shrugged his toned shoulders and resolved to try and contact his sister at a more suitable hour. She'd be less likely to be grumpy that way.

"Kelly will be here in a week anyhow. Best not to push her before she comes to visit." A smile spread the corners of his mouth as he made his way to bed. It was going to be a long day at work tomorrow.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Well, what are we going to do this time?" Kelly groaned as she noticed the chair's absence for a second night. Sleeping on the bed next to Thomas had only been acceptable for two reasons: one, she hadn't noticed him getting near, and two, Kelly had figured at that moment that the arrangement was a one-time thing.

Evidently Thomas had other plans.

He had joined her on the bedside as soon as the pair had entered the room, and, despite his companion's many protests, he had not moved a muscle to put up with her requests. His only response had been a stubborn shake of his head and a rough push as he'd attempted to make Kelly lay down. He must've been getting tired and wanted to sleep as soon as possible.

"Look, I know that this is your bed and all, and I'd be pretty uncomfortable with someone else using it instead of me, but-" she was interrupted by another push downward. _"Damn he's strong!"_

An irritated gaze met an impatient expression.

"Fine, you win. Just don't take all the covers this time." Before she could see what his answer was, she'd turned over onto her side with her back facing the brown-haired man. Kelly's arms crossed in front of her chest as her knees bent, her frame seeming to shrink. A dip in the bed behind her announced that Thomas had also lain down for the night. _"It's about time…"_

An arm suddenly rose above her before resting gently over her waist. In the midst of making her sarcastic remarks Kelly had failed to wrap herself with the bedcovers that she'd just reminded Thomas about, so he'd taken the initiative to jog her memory. "I'm going to use the covers Thomas, but thanks." She made to get up and move the covers aside, but Thomas' grip tightened as he moved closer to her.

"Thomas." He squeezed her wrist once to show that he'd heard her. "I said I was your friend, not your girlfriend." Her dark mood weighed heavily on her statement, her words dripping with annoyance.

Surprisingly Thomas did nothing in response. Kelly forced herself to keep her aching muscles from tensing as she opened her mouth a little too wide. "You've never had a girlfriend, have you?"

At that Thomas ripped his arm from her side. His roommate felt the bed dip again as he left its comfort to lean against the closest wall. Kelly's form twisted so that her face could take in the scene: the man had his arms hung at either side of his bulky form with his head tilted downward at her. He seemed to be studying her, trying to figure out why she'd asked him such a question.

"I didn't ask to be mean; I was only trying to make a point." She saw his forehead wrinkle-he was frowning at her. "Friends hug, but they don't sleep that close to each other. That's something that only girlfriends and boyfriends do…well, married people too, obviously."

He cocked his head, his frown replaced by a questioning look.

"What?" Thomas shrugged his massive shoulders then returned to his side of the bed, laid down once more, and rolled over so that his back now faced Kelly. _"Hm, we're making progress…surprised that he didn't get uppity."_ Pleased with the end product of their minor ordeal, Kelly rested on her right side, closed her eyes, and released herself to dreaming.

Thomas' POV

Thomas had known right after she'd asked her question that she'd been slightly curious; the feeling had been hidden for the most part by her frustration, but he could still detect it in her voice. Indeed, she had made her point clear to the ignorant man: he'd done something that wasn't acceptable, and as soon as he'd understood that unspoken rule, that societal taboo, he had put distance between them. Leaning up on the wall had afforded him the ability to think, or what passed for thinking in his confused mindset.

"_What about it? Does it matter? Girls are stupid and mean; who wants to be around them anyhow?"_ Even as the insulting stereotype crossed his thoughts, he knew that he didn't feel that way about Kelly. No, what he felt for her was vastly different from that agonizing disgust he'd always had for the female population, with the exception of Mama. He'd allowed her to take liberties that anyone else would've most certainly died for, let her use his own room as a shelter from the hideous activities that haunted his aging home…wasn't she appreciative? The masked visage held a contemplative look as Kelly's body shifted to face him more easily. What exactly about that question of hers had bothered him so?

He didn't want to be friends with Kelly. At all.

And at that sudden realization, an unbidden and forgotten memory filled his head.

*****

A long time ago, when Thomas had entered his sixth year of school, there had been someone notable in his life, outside of his family.

Jenny Weaver.

She'd been pretty as a dream; the sole adolescent on the playground that hadn't joined in the routine humiliation which he'd come to expect. No, she had quietly settled on an abandoned swing, her feet dangling above the dusty ground aimlessly as she'd averted her eyes from the heart-wrenching scene. Jenny had moved into town over that prior summer, so naturally she'd been oblivious to the townspeople's unspoken rule: never have anything to do with Thomas Brown Hewitt. Unless that anything involved merciless ridicule.

Jenny Weaver had done what no one else his age, or above it, had dared to do: she'd shown him consideration. On his way home that day, Thomas had sensed a presence behind him on the long road home. Whirling around, he'd dropped his books and stuck up his fists in a threatening gesture…and was shocked to discover the sweetly smiling girl. Jenny had shyly offered him a cookie that she had saved from lunchtime, and that had been it: Thomas had instantly and emotionally latched onto her. Their friendship had been a closely guarded secret, neither one revealing their connection in the sight of others, and once they were alone…oh God, the hours of fun that had ensued! Catching lightening bugs, making fun of the mean kids in their class, searching for autumn flowers amidst the waving, golden strands of wheat in nearby fields had delighted them both. Those had been the most fulfilling days of his young life.

But that had come to a screeching halt, had been ripped from him just as his dignity and happiness had been. Destroyed. Gone. All because Jenny had warmed up to and befriended that snot-nosed, arrogant Keith Redford. Jenny had coldly and bluntly informed Thomas on the last school day before winter break that she could no longer be friends with him, so could he not follow her after school from now on? It had broken his heart. He just hadn't understood and yet, in the back of his mind, he had.

That had been quite the ironic situation, because it had been that exact morning in which Thomas had finally worked up the courage to tell his friend something so personal, so incredibly powerful…

He loved her.

Though it did not last for long after she'd ditched him: Jenny had eagerly joined Keith's posse in putting the 'school freak' down. That had been excruciatingly painful at first, but thankfully the sentiment had weakened and dissolved with time. A year later, when Thomas had accompanied Uncle Hoyt to town on errands, he'd spotted Jenny and Keith walking hand-in-hand. Not the tiniest flicker of jealousy or throb of hurt had stabbed his heart: he was free of her.

*****

Kelly had reminded Thomas of Jenny, but only because she was pretty too, although in a completely different way. And the kindheartedness which his hostage had shown him was unique as well. As the years had gone by and Thomas had matured, he'd come to the conclusion that Jenny's kindness had merely resulted from pity. Kelly was what he truly needed, a person who was nice as a product of her nature, not by means of some misguided attempt to improve his situation through false compassion. He needed her for more than that as well; but as it was at the moment, Thomas just couldn't put his thumb on it. Or could he?

He frowned as he saw Kelly's mouth move in some protest at what he'd done earlier, all while he considered the possible outcome of pursuing that inner query. Did he really want to know?

"_Yes, even if it means ending this."_ Thomas cocked his head as he considered his answer, throwing a questioning look toward his roommate. Upon hearing her verbal response to his outward expression, Thomas simply shrugged, inwardly amused, and recovered his side of the bed.

The girl turned over and soon fell into a deep sleep. _"Finally."_ Whether or not she approved, Thomas reached his arm over her for not the final time, orienting himself into a comfortable position as he turned to face her. He buried his masked face into her hair, inhaling the scent of something flowery.

In his musings, Thomas had arrived at the speculation that Kelly simply wasn't used to being in his company yet, that when she did grow accustomed to him she would allow this without giving outbursts. Thomas had also discovered that he absolutely did not want to continue his current relationship with his auburn-haired companion. Clearly friendship would not suit his desires and needs.

Thomas wanted her. Very, very badly.

The recognition of the unusual emotion, which had made its first appearance in his being when she'd smiled at him in the doorway, had released some pent up tension in him. It had also created a new tension, one which Thomas was wholly new to and was unsure of what to do with. As he lay behind the object of his only just discovered affection, he felt a warmth develop in every part of his body that made contact with hers. Fire heated his chest, which was against her back and shoulders, and his heart labored louder and faster than what was strictly necessary at that moment. Some innate knowledge pried into his conscience: his lips tingled at his abrupt desire to press them onto her. Her pale neck wasn't exposed, her silky locks blanketing it, but that could easily be remedied. Besides, the nape of her neck was conveniently close…

Kelly stirred in his hold; the tightening grip had disturbed her rest. As he'd readied himself to indulge in his impulse, Thomas had subconsciously strengthened his grasp on her small frame. He loosened the embrace quickly enough to prevent full waking but slowly enough to keep her at least half-asleep. Her eyes flickered slightly; would she awaken anyway? No: instead she released a contented sigh, snuggled up closer to him, and eventually resumed her previous rhythm of slow breathing. Though Thomas desperately hoped that she had done so because she reciprocated his feelings, he knew he couldn't be sure and settled for the assumption that Kelly had thought she was somewhere else.

That pained him a little, but he smiled to himself as a thought entered his tired mind. She'd come to like him soon enough, especially considering what he'd done for her already. And after that…

Kelly was his. All his, and no one else's.

He would be content with holding her, nothing more, at least for the time being. For once he hated having to don his old leather mask as he nuzzled his face into the deep reddish strands, those silky waves that smelled faintly of spring blossoms carried by a stray cool wind. Its existence thwarted the owner's attempts to fully appreciate Kelly's texture, and Thomas knew it. Did he dare remove it? She was asleep now, but what if she woke up unexpectedly?

The mask would remain in its designated spot. He wouldn't chance her seeing his face…his horribly disfigured face. Damn it! He had neglected to take his disgusting appearance into account, damn it all! Thomas loathed himself for being so stupid; Kelly couldn't love him, particularly not if his barrier was absent. The fact that he was a murderer was pushing fate, but to throw in his disease, his condition? God, was there any hope in getting her to warm up to him, then at some point revealing his face and hoping for the best, that she wouldn't change her mind?

Luda Mae had once said something to him, when he was younger and Mama had still prayed that her boy would find "a nice girl." What had she said? Love is blind. That was it, there it was right there! Maybe, just maybe, she would come to love him as he was; of course he'd let that sentiment develop and grow before he even thought about making himself that vulnerable, but she could love him without the hideous mask too…right?

Mixed responses were vehemently hushed. He was too tired to continue his train of thought. As the soft sound of rain began to pitter patter on the house's roof, Thomas feel into a blissfully peaceful sleep.

**And there you have it my dears...give me feedback: praise and criticism are welcomed with open arms! If you have any suggestions about characterization (or anything else, for that matter), I would just love it if you'd give your opinion. Until next time! :D**


	16. Dawn

**I know that this is a bit on the short side, more so because of the 3,500+ word rule I'd decided on. Oh well, I can't see anyone complaining about getting new development! And as we all should know, I own and profit nothing from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.**

**Pitter patter**. **Thump**…**thump**…**thump**…

Kelly's eyelids had reluctantly forced themselves open, creating a sufficient gap through which she could view the dim room. She could somehow tell that sunrise was forthcoming, and the gentle tapping of raindrops on the roof was proof that this day's dawn would not blossom too brightly on the sleeping world. She smiled to herself, relishing the soothing lullaby that the rain thudded out, enjoying the enveloping and comforting warmth that caressed her skin. Ah yes; this was her perfect morning.

Or it should have been, if she had not realized where Thomas was at the point in time. Great.

The giant slumbered on, his chest rising and falling against her back while his left arm was slung protectively across her petite waist, his elbow resting along the feminine curve in her body's profile just above her hips. Increasingly she was made aware of the strength with which he held onto her, even in his sleep…as if his subconscious feared she would leave him while he dreamt. His exhalations heated the back of her head; his face must be nestled in her wavy hair. If only she was curled up next to a man she loved…if only Thomas weren't a deadly killer… _"Let's not go there, shall we?"_

Kelly absentmindedly wondered if she could move; perhaps she could subtly adjust her form's position without waking the behemoth.

As the redhead considered her limited options her mind registered a faint glimmer of partiality to her current situation: this was promptly dismissed, a frown creasing her pale and delicate features. There was no way she could exhibit approval for this. For one thing, she thought it was highly inappropriate, and for another…well, she just couldn't allow herself to do something which she'd already chided Thomas for, now could she?

No, that wouldn't do at all. Kelly had never been fond of inconsistencies in other people's behavior, and she certainly wasn't about to harbor that flaw herself. Doing so would be an inconsistency in and of itself.

She slowly and carefully removed her own arm from its place at her side, gingerly slid her fingers around his wrist, and tried to raise him off of her. This worked surprisingly well; he only trembled a little as she completed her silent mission, probably because of whatever dream had been entertaining him at that moment. Once she'd laid his arm behind her at an angle that wouldn't awaken him for discomfort, she methodically raised herself from Thomas' bed.

She looked down at his peaceful form. He really was handsome when she stopped to think about it, when his face looked like-

"_What? Are you completely insane?!"_ Disapproval at her take on his features shown in the way Kelly suddenly pursed her lips, pressing them into a thin line on her otherwise soft face. _"I can't allow that kind of emotion…it's not…_" She paused. What harm could letting that thought-path play out possibly do, given where she was already? Certainly she wasn't going anywhere anyhow; would thinking about him that way really do much harm, if any at all?

No, Thomas had wanted to be friends. Right? So maybe he'd embraced his 'friend' in such a manner that most people reserved for an intimate partner, but that had been a mistake on his part, a small one due to ignorance and lack of familiarity with community norms.

"_He's probably socially inept; doesn't have anybody else around but the other nuts. To him it was just a hug. Or something."_ As desperately as she clung to that belief, she somehow found the common sense in the back of her head disagreeing. _"Nothing has changed though. Why would I think any differently?"_

Nothing about her had really changed, or so she forced her mind to accept. Thomas hadn't changed either. Not a single bit.

But he had. Somehow, her strange captor had been altered by either her actions or something internal. Whether that change was for better or for worse remained to be seen.

In the embrace she'd woken up in just minutes ago, there had been an element, an aspect that was totally new. Abrupt. Subtle, but simultaneously it had been terribly obvious. What in the hell could have taken place that had changed their agreed upon relationship?

Kelly had only recognized it for what it was because of a singular occurrence from last summer.

*****

All through her school days, Kelly had focused on her schoolwork. A few friends had shared her life as well, but nothing more. She had reveled in the experience that learning provided; the curious woman had enjoyed gaining new knowledge with every fiber of her being. Yet in her senior year something had changed: Kelly had developed a crush. The center of her attention: no other than Eric Bard, the quiet and thoughtful boy who whiled away the majority of his time in books. She'd felt drawn to his reserved demeanor, the deep and complex enigma which was his essence; he had simply and effortlessly captivated her finely-tuned mind. She'd become an addict, starved for the intellectual conversations they had begun to carry after she'd introduced herself. Eric had wormed his way into her heart and life. When their final high school year had ended, he had shown up at her front door with a sly grin and a rose behind his back. Of course, he couldn't help himself: Eric had had to divulge a scrap of trivia before he had permitted himself to ask her on a date. Kelly had happily accepted. The young woman had eaten up every word on his prearranged lecture on Victorian floral symbolism; a red rose, such as the one he'd offered her, meant passionate love.

As the summer days lengthened the lovebirds had spent more and more time together. However, when the leaves turned their luxurious shades of orange, red, and yellow, the two realized a sad twist of fate: they'd been accepted to faraway schools. Goodbyes had been heartbreaking, but the gradual decline in their communication had strangled her budding love for Eric to death. After midterm Kelly had determined that their bond could not continue, and she penned a short letter telling him so. A week passed, at which point there had been a letter, written in hasty cursive lettering, announcing his decision. He'd apparently had the same idea at about the same time she had. The break up had been mutual, and from that point on Kelly had abstained from romantic endeavors…but not by some odd ploy to garner self-pity. She had reached that choice with a calm finality: her memories of her and Eric's time together were fondly looked upon, and her selection had afforded her precious time and energy to the courses she studied. The summer in which she now existed held no ache for her, just sweet recollections and the promise of relaxation.

*****

Or it had, anyway, before she'd become an unenthusiastic part of the Hewitt family circus.

In the course of her reminiscing Kelly had neared the window, the bright eyes mechanically scanning and looking out at the pastel, cloud-swathed sky while her attention focused on her past. Stray beams of diluted sunlight broke through the grey barrier here and there, conveying the dreary world below that the great shining orb still existed, if not where the earthly inhabitants could appreciate it fully. It wasn't long before her concentration had relocated itself from her ruminations to the drama unfolding outside. This weather was among her favorite facets of nature: threads of white-hot lightening shot down to kiss the ground in violent sparked showers as steady rain gave the withered plants below hope for survival. The young woman smiled slightly. At least she still had the natural world to console her: her captors could never hope to tear that luxury from her.

Lacking warning of any kind, a pair of well-built arms folded across her stomach, pulling her into a hug from behind. Kelly jumped in astonishment: how had he gotten up without alerting her? Could he really move so quietly?

"_You'd think it'd be hard for him, judging by his size…doesn't look too graceful."_ She let a frown adorn her face as she glanced down at his hands, which had grasped onto the fabric of her wrinkled dress. Oh for heaven's sake! Had she **slept** in this damned thing? The auburn-crowned woman furrowed her brow for a second time that brisk morning. Deftly she removed Thomas' clutching fingers from her waist, holding his arms apart as she turned to face him. Well, look up at his curious face, actually.

"Don't scare me like that! And friends don't hug like that either!" Her mood had soured, and though she knew she'd fed the tall man a lie she felt no remorse, not in the slightest. How would he know better in any case? Thomas continued to stare at his grumpy companion, head tilted downward, mask concealing his facial expression as usual. What she did see, however, was the slow shake of his head as he came closer.

"_Does he know that I lied to him? Great, just excellent. But what do I care either way? He'll only stare at me some more no matter what I do now…or will he? Is he going to distrust me now and become angry?"_ She fidgeted, a faraway look entering her eyes as she withdrew into her thoughts. Meanwhile, Thomas had drawn nearer to his prize, registering her shift in attention with an eager demeanor. He reached for her face, cupping it with his right hand as his left brushed a strand of silkiness behind her small ear. Kelly's eyes focused on him as she abruptly snapped out of her deliberations, registering what was happening as she sharply breathed in. Her crystal blue eyes, which seemed to catch a stray ray of light from the window, grew brighter still as they widened in shock. Her cheeks lost their porcelain color, replaced by a heated, burning red flush.

"Thomas?" The name caught in her throat, but he'd heard her nonetheless. The shadow of a smile flitted at her from behind the mask, its presence better noted in his gaze. Kelly's mind shut down and her heart ceased to beat as an epiphany knocked the breath from her: Thomas knew exactly what he was doing, knew that friends wouldn't carry out what he was right then.

"_He doesn't want to be friends. Oh dear God."_ A fluttering in the pit of her stomach sidetracked her; she didn't feel the way she knew she should. And that information scared her more than anything Thomas had done.

Evidently her hesitance to dissuade him to stop what he was doing had emboldened Thomas: his thumb began to stroke the cheek he'd been holding in his large palm. Gently it traced the line from her high cheekbone to the left corner of her quivering mouth, then going back again, over and over. His left hand had come to rest on Kelly's right collarbone, his calloused fingertips brushed over her soft skin as he'd moved them into her hair, causing her to shiver.

The cool locks of deep red made his skin tingle pleasantly; it wasn't used to such an enjoyable texture, having been subjected to the arid and unforgiving Texas heat and the feel of rough tools-particularly the chainsaw. As much as Thomas liked using the cumbersome thing (it had made his job a lot easier) he still had to admit that its handle wasn't smooth as water. Not even close. Nevertheless, nothing compared with what caressed his aching fingers at that point. That was a perfect moment.

Almost perfect.

"You awake in there you two?" Luda Mae's painfully cheerful voice rung out from behind the bedroom door; was she always so awake in the mornings? "Its breakfast time; Tommy, I know you're up. Better wake your friend so she can eat too. I ain't waitin' all day!" Muffled footsteps waned into nothingness as the old woman made her way down the stairs.

Not once in the course of that interruption had the pair broken their gaze at each other.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You like griddlecakes Dearie?" Mae flashed a doting smile on her 'guest,' who had reluctantly followed her roommate to the kitchen table. Kelly nodded in a daze; it was getting more and more difficult for her brain to sort things out. How irritating. No matter, she could worry over that later while she did chores for Luda Mae. For the time being, she'd keep her mind uncluttered and pay attention. A good idea, considering that she hadn't noticed Thomas' absence until now.

"Yes, I do. Thank you ma'am." She knew that Mae had smiled at her response even though the elderly woman's back was toward her. The faint scent of cooking oil made Kelly's stomach rumble, which in turn caused Mae to laugh softly from her position at the stove.

"You must be hungry dear! Didn't eat much last night, did ya? I suppose that's my fault though…hadn't thought to bring in more greens fer yer salad."

"No, it's fine; I had plenty to eat for dinner. I appreciate you putting up with my picky eating habits."

"Oh, yer such a nice girl. I'm so glad Tommy's got himself a friend. About time…" As nice as her sentiment sounded, Kelly found herself wincing at the proclamation. Good thing Luda Mae was tinkering with the old stove; otherwise the young woman might've been embarrassed.

Thomas entered to Kelly's right, sat himself down in the chair across from her, and promptly turned his gaze onto her thoughtful face. His eyes had that playful gleam in them again-was he holding something behind his back? For the first time it was Kelly who cocked her head…_"Thomas must've rubbed off on me."_ This action seemed to further the man's amusement; he excitedly inched his chair closer, leaned in toward her, and dramatically flourished a tiny Forget-Me-Not. The tiny, delicate green stems supported a burst of white and blue colored buds: so magnificent and intricately coiled were the minute petals that Kelly burst into a pleased smile and, all at once, lifted the flower out of Thomas' grasp so that she could better take the sight in. Her vision bathed itself in Nature's glory, the hard work of seed and soil come to fruition. It was beautiful.

A hand shot past her, behind the lovely plant she tenderly held in her caring hands, unburdening itself of the food-ridden plate meant for her. Luda Mae had quietly observed the scene with evident interest.

"Tell you what Dearie: why don't ya take today off, hm? I ain't got much to do on rainy days anyhow. Get up and find something nice to keep ya busy." A wrinkled visage came into focus, the older woman beamed downward at the younger one.

Kelly was not stupid. Oh no, far from it. She knew exactly what Thomas' mother was up to. The question on her mind was how to disengage herself from the developing plans without being obvious, and especially without insulting anyone. _"They're good. Just not good enough." _ She inwardly smirked to herself while her outward appearance was one of agreeableness and gratitude. "Are you sure ma'am? I don't have any demands on my time at all; helping you would be a-"

"Nonsense! You'll have plenty to do once ya set yer mind to it! Now git: Hoyt's gettin' up 'bout now, he'll want to take his coffee and things alone."

Kelly hadn't felt more like a child these past years than when Luda Mae had shooed her out of the kitchen and-oh! There it was again! That secretive wink between mother and son! So, they were in an understanding: no small wonder. Up until now, Thomas had had an easy time having Kelly all to himself without interruption from Hoyt or Luda Mae. Not that Monty guy either, although Kelly surmised that the mystery man couldn't walk due to his leg, so he probably couldn't have in the first place. In any case, now that she'd been unexpectedly released from chores and the excuse they'd provided, all that Kelly could think about was what she should do to get out of any 'fun.' Whatever activities were equated with 'fun' in this disturbed household couldn't be very appealing to the newcomer.

"Now what?"

Thomas seemed to consider her for a brief moment before motioning to the woman. Apparently he wanted her to follow him…

**Okay my dears, the poll is up on my profile! The plot could go one of three ways in my head, so I'd like some feedback on your preferred route before I get the next couple chapters underway. Remember loves: review and leave me comments, criticisms, and concerns! Bye for now :D**


	17. Compromise

**Oh dear…my spring semester began this Monday, which can mean only one thing (at least where Kelly and Thomas are concerned): my chapters will be added at much longer intervals. *cries*  
****And I was having such fun with this story too! Take heart, my darlings, this too shall pass. I have three day weekends every week: the show must, and WILL, go on!**

"I really don't know what you're getting at, Thomas." The last five minutes had consisted of nothing more than the masked man's enthused gestures toward his yard and Kelly's descent into confusion and aggravation. This was getting old, and fast.

"Why don't you just talk? Wouldn't that be so much easier? I'm sure we both have a mastery of the English language." Her sarcasm was received in silence, a frown darkening his features before he slowly shook his head. This deliberate motion sent strands of brown hair into his eyes; Thomas absentmindedly brushed them back into place before launching into another bout of mute movement. At this Kelly shook her own head, the auburn waves dancing around her tensed shoulders as the cool breeze picked up. Why couldn't she have been abducted by someone whom she could understand?

The immense man had seemed to notice her lack of attention: his head was cocked and his arms hung idly at his aproned sides…did he have to wear that ragged old thing? _"He could at least have Luda Mae wash it once in a while…"_ Kelly sighed, brought her eyes back up from the ground where she'd focused on a furry caterpillar's journey through the grass 'forest,' and childishly stuck her tongue out. Thomas grinned at her from behind the cracked leathery mask, but just as quickly proceeded to gesture to his companion again. Some movement toward his chest, then his frantic pointing toward the shed where Kelly had hid herself on her first night here…wait. And then it made sense. Sort of.

"You want me to…hide?" Apparently this was what he'd been attempting to communicate: Thomas nodded so fervently that Kelly could have sworn his mask would free itself from its shielding position over his nose. "You mean like hide-and-go-seek? I don't know if I'm up for that. Why don't we," Kelly paused while Thomas wrinkled his forehead in consideration, "do something else?" Thomas straightened up, folded his massive arms across his chest, and let out a loud huff of breath.

"_God, he's so juvenile! How does Luda Mae put up with him? Well, he probably listens to her. That's what's missing here…"_ Perhaps a compromise would get him to cooperate.

"Alright, look: I guess you want to play that…well, game," Thomas nodded expectantly, "and I would like to take a short walk before it starts raining again. So, why don't we both get what we want? We can play hide-and-go-seek for a bit, and then we can go on a quick stroll. How's that sound?" Kelly allowed a hopeful look to alight on her features; she needed Thomas to know just how much her cramped legs craved that mild exercise. Thoughtfulness brightened his russet eyes for a brief moment before Thomas slowly nodded to her. Kelly smiled: she had figured out how to get her way, if only to some small degree. Maybe this whole thing wouldn't be so bad after all; it could absolutely be much more harrowing than a disagreement over how to pass the time.

Kelly stretched her pale legs, yawned, and then advanced toward the driveway. That was not a good idea. **Thud!** The redhead looked over her shoulder to see Thomas glaring angrily at her. Realizing her mistake, Kelly rapidly backtracked and once again faced her now fuming captor. "Sorry about that. I forgot that we were going to play first…" His arms dropped from their previous position as he stormed over to her small frame, took her wrist roughly in one hand, and led her over to the wooden shed. Once there, Thomas released her slightly reddened wrist, turned to face her, and held his large, dirty hands over the only uncovered part of his visage: his eyes. His breathing became a little labored. Kelly's eyes followed a noise; his foot was tapping out a slow rhythmic tempo.

"_He's counting to himself? Geez…guess he's taking this seriously."_ That would have been almost funny to the redhead; if only she'd felt better inclined to laugh or even note the humor in his behavior.

Kelly silently scanned her surroundings; it would've been nice if her abductor had given her a tour of the yard first, but she figured questioning or complaining about it now would only worsen his foul mood, maybe even persuade him to cancel her outing. She definitely didn't want that.

Hurriedly she settled in between two rusting cars farther down the driveway and behind the pallid house. She controlled her urge to worm her way under the red pick-up to her right: she might get stuck in the mud underneath, and that would ruin everyone's time. Kelly was well aware that this was only a friendly game, or at least it seemed so, but she couldn't get over the tense grip of fear that seized her body. Images of the agonizingly dark scenery that had surrounded her in the moments before she'd confronted Thomas, before the onset of her strangling asthma attack, swam through her mind. The battle to restrain herself was a close one, but in the end Kelly's logical side won out. Her head nodded onto her chest, the effort she'd put into keeping calm and maintaining her composure had been great. _"I'm really not cut out for dealing with stressful situations. If these happy campers don't end up killing me, putting up with their antics might just do the trick." _

As if Fate had decided that the exhausted girl needed confirmation, the next thing to meet Kelly's tired gaze was an engrossed Thomas. That had been the final straw.

"Why did you just stand there?! Couldn't you just have gotten it over with?!" A decidedly grumpy gaze met an interested one. He looked at her for a few seconds more, than seemed to decide that his game was over. Evidently he wasn't getting as much fun out of it as he had hoped for. Thomas extended his hand toward the crouching woman and leaned toward her. She sighed to herself, figured that she might as well accept his offer to help, and took his large hand with hers. In a fluid motion she was hoisted up to a standing position, where she remained while the auburn-crowned girl dusted off the horrid dress that Luda Mae had given to her.

Kelly didn't care whether or not he was enjoying himself, especially if it would come at her expense. All she wanted now was to get her promised walk in. The clouds overhead looked swollen and angry, brimming with raindrops that could fall any minute. Kelly brought her line of sight down from the heavens to glance at her hulking captor, whose gaze had also been fixed on the looming thunderheads.

"Thomas?" His eyes immediately fixed onto hers. "It looks like we'll have a storm pretty quick here…could we take that walk now?"

His answer was to begin striding toward the house. The woman behind him appeared to be surprised before she sprinted to catch up with him.

"Hey! Where are you going?" He ignored her. "That's not fair! You agreed to let me go if I played with you first, and now that I have its time for my walk!" She halted in her effort to keep up and set her hands on her hips in an exasperated stance. "You lied to me."

That stopped the masked man in his tracks. He whirled around to face her, rapidly closed the distance between them, and then stood just in front of her. A flicker of remorse lit his eyes for a brief moment before all emotion drained from his face. What little of it was exposed anyway.

A calloused hand was raised toward the girl, its palm facing upwards and flattened out at the sky. Kelly glared down at the gesture, her gaze softened as she considered it. "What?"

Thomas answered her by slowly reaching down to her side and gently taking her smaller hand in his dusty one, wrapping his strong fingers around the delicate thing. The grip that he held her hand in was loose, not a lot of pressure was exerted on her petite fingers and palm. That is, until she tried to jerk away. The grasp became firm, tighter, almost to the point of pain. Still the girl protested: "Thomas! Let go of me! I don't want you to hold my hand!"

Anger drifted over his partly uncovered face before a look of resignation took hold. Quick as lightening his grasp relocated to her wrist; Thomas then proceeded to lead her away from his residence and toward the bleak and cracked stretch of highway. Kelly would get her exercise after all.

Thomas' POV

The wind was picking up at a constant speed, and the storm clouds over the man and his companion looked angrier than Thomas had seen them in a long time. Very rarely did they have storms like this during the summer season, storms that seemed to suck the very humidity and stifling heat out of the air. He admittedly welcomed the relief from what would have been a searing hot, bright day. This was a treat indeed.

Of course, he wouldn't have minded the weather one way or another…he had Kelly now. At least, he had her physically; he couldn't be certain as to whether or not she was warming up to her captor yet. Kelly was just as confusing at times as the girls in his school classes had been. Sometimes more so than that, but he pointedly recalled that he hadn't wanted their attention…just hers.

As the pair continued on in silence, Thomas allowed one more glance up the road to check for cars before he let his mind wander to what had transpired earlier that morning.

The tension caused by nervousness over his actions had shaken him; his trek down the stairs to breakfast had been unsteady and erratic as a result. If anyone had watched him take those last steps down the flight of stairs, they would've visibly sensed that he was slightly on edge. That gesture, the caress he'd given her smooth cheek, had been risky for him. For one thing, he hadn't a clue how men were supposed to show affection to the woman of their choice. The urge to reach out and touch her like that had been all he'd had to go on, and he hoped to God that he'd done it right, that it was the acceptable thing to do…that she had approved. Furthermore, the second thing which ceaselessly nagged at him since that moment was his uncertainty about the timing of the whole affair. Hadn't she liked it though? Kelly had only stood there, looking up into his face with those haunting eyes, her body silent and still.

Thomas was brought out of this train of thought by Mama's voice: he'd followed Kelly into the warm kitchen without realizing it.

"Tommy dear, why don't ya go wake up yer uncle? He should be gettin' up now anyhow." She flashed a broad, wrinkled smile up at her pride and joy before viewing Kelly. It was obvious that Kelly wasn't 'with the program' as Monty would say: her eyes were no longer the crystal clear azure they'd been before, but a muted, glazed-over cerulean. "She'll be fine; I'll watch her."

With that assurance Thomas relaxed a bit, then made his way out toward his uncle's room. He never liked being in there for very long; there was some lingering, eerie aura there. This would not take a lengthy amount of time if he could help it.

His uncle's room wasn't something that anyone could boast about: there were only a few pieces of furniture in there, all as old as the things Thomas had in his room, along with some war memorabilia next to a pair of shut closet doors made of scratched, painted wood. He could only imagine what went on in here between the 'pretty' victims and his abhorrent relative, but he never allowed it much thought.

Quietly the massive figure slunk to the ratty bedside, let himself take a deep breath, and began to roughly shake his uncle's unsuspecting body into consciousness.

"Damn it! The hell's goin' on 'round here?!" Yes; Uncle Hoyt was positively awake now. And positively pissed off. Surprise surprise. One painful nudge into Thomas' lower rib cage was all the prodding he needed: the man made to leave the room when an unsettling, low chuckle caught his attention.

"You like her, don'tcha boy?" Slowly he turned to face his spiteful kin, fearing that trouble was headed his way…the same feeling he'd always gotten around Hoyt as a young child was again blossoming in his chest. This had not happened in a very great while, not since he'd had his growth spurt. He vaguely wondered why even as he watched his uncle's face come out from under the covers, a maniacal grin stretching his aged skin. "And you want her to like ya, isn't that right?"

Thomas wasn't sure what to do; all he knew to do was desperately steel himself for the biting remark Hoyt would probably make about his horrible condition, his evident 'stupidity,' the astronomical odds of any girl anywhere ever liking him. But even as he did so, his head seemed to break from tradition by nodding. **Nodding?!** He must be stupid! Thomas mentally swore at himself: now he'd done it.

"Weeeeell…" Hoyt's grin grew to a ghastly length, "I bet ya I know how to help." Thomas remained stock-still, but on the inside was screaming for a way out, screaming at Hoyt for being there and existing. He'd ruin everything: Thomas knew his mother's brother too well to trust him or to believe that the impersonator would really help him.

"_Why is he trying to help me? Does he want something out of this?"_ He cocked his head in thought. Hoyt took the motion as an answer.

"See, I know women Tommy. They're damned confusin' to just 'bout everybody…everybody but me." He seemed disgustingly pleased with himself, as if he'd discovered the Fountain of Youth and had no one to share it with. He drawled on, "So, boy, I can tell ya what she wants. And once ya know how ta charm 'em, well…" That sickening, toothy smirk appeared again, "you'll get as much attention as you'll ever need."

Thomas shifted his weight warily onto his left side and fidgeted with his hands; how dearly he would have loved to wrap them around Hoyt's neck at that moment. If he so much as tried to take Kelly from him…

Yet he was curious and intrigued by his uncle's statement. That confident claim made the masked man want to know more: he craved the young woman's interest as it was. If he could get her to like him back by following Hoyt's suggestions, then there was a pretty good shot that Thomas would forgive the war veteran for his harsh treatment of his only nephew. Provided that he coughed up whatever information he had, of course.

Thomas brought his line of sight directly into Hoyt's eyes and raised his eyebrows in apparent interest. Damn the possible consequences; he just had to know!

"Yer smarter than I thought. Fine then; well, first off you'll wanna start small…hmm." A meditative grimace overrode his previous facial expression. "That's right. Go get her some flowers and such, but just flowers will do…" His voice trailed off as he focused his thought on Thomas again. "Didn't ya hear what I said Tommy? Go on, git! You know there's some flowers in the fields 'round here. Leave me alone now; I ain't woken up all the way…"

Thomas rushed out of the bedroom, down the stairs, and straight out of the front door without so much as a backward glance.

Finally, he had something concrete! Something that he knew was right, something she would enjoy…maybe Kelly would warm up to him now. His heart jumped and fluttered at that notion, but his mind was steadfastly focused on his frantic search.

Then he found it. Nestled in the long, wind-tousled strands of sun-kissed grass, was a delicate beauty of a flower. He knew she would adore it; it was perfect for her, as if it had always belonged to that petite and kind woman. Carefully he entwined his fingers in its neighbors, pulling them up and away from his treasure; he wanted to make sure that he didn't ruin it before she could hold it herself, before he could see her smile…and then it was free from the ground, its roots being caressed by a gentle breeze for the first time.

As if his very life depended on it, Thomas dashed to the house, raced to the front door, and stopped. He wanted to catch his breath and walk into the kitchen as nonchalantly as possible.

"_Kelly will be surprised."_ His lips curved upwards in a victorious grin. Two minutes later he sauntered into the kitchen and savored the pleasant scent of cooking griddlecakes which hung thickly in the air. More than that, more than anything else, he took pleasure in seeing Kelly seated at the table with a musing look on her pretty face. He had taken notice in the days since she arrived that she was delightfully expressive: this unveiling would be fun.

He marched in, took the closest chair at the table, and promptly settled his focus on Kelly, who returned the gaze with a dreamy look in her eyes. She must be lost in thought; oh, yes she was. To his astonishment, her red curls slunk over her right shoulder as she gracefully cocked her head to the side. He almost could have laughed. In an effort to better present her with the flower, Thomas shuffled his wooden chair closer to hers and leaned towards her curious face. Dear God…he could just barely smell her hair from here: it was intoxicating. This, coupled with the knowledge of what was to come, sent a thrilled gleam into his eyes. The delicately-structured flower was lying in wait, shielded from view by his muscular frame. Dramatically it was flourished out toward the lovely woman: here was the moment of truth.

"_Please like this…like __me__."_

Anticipation at her response was replaced by sheer delight as Thomas watched Kelly's curious gaze transform into a joyful smile. As she grasped the Forget-Me-Not and made to lift it out of his grasp, her soft hands only just brushed his rough ones: that feeling made the man's breath catch in his throat and his heart stop mid-beat. That light touch pleased and excited the masked man very much. As his gaze remained on her rapt inspection of the gift, Thomas could only marvel at her and think one thought over and over.

"_Please do that again."_

**Oh yay! I've finally gotten another chapter in! Trust me: not having the time and opportunity to write was just as annoying as waiting for an update. I apologize for the wait. So, I have every Friday off this semester; I'm praying that I can crank out a new chapter every weekend! Hallelujah!  
****By the way, thanks to all those of you who took precious time to comment/review: I am an addict for feedback! XD**

**And, of course, not one single element of Texas Chainsaw Massacre belongs to me…not even Thomas. I cry about that every night… *tear* :) **

**It's late, so goodnight my dears! Maybe I'll update once more this weekend…**


	18. The Slaughterhouse

**I'm a bit exhausted with the way I've been splitting the story into Kelly's point of view and then backtracking to reveal Thomas', so for this chapter I thought I'd experiment a little and see if I couldn't relay both viewpoints simultaneously without confusing anyone. Let me know what you think.**

"_Wow, this is taking longer than I'd anticipated…"_ Kelly's mouth formed a bemused grin as she continued to try and match her gait with Thomas'. She had assumed, back at the grand white mansion, that he hadn't been keen on walking anywhere. He most likely thought that it was aimless, for the pair wasn't attempting to reach any particular destination, but maybe he'd started to enjoy the jaunt. After all, there had not been even a single grunt or moan of irritation or displeasure from the masked man since they'd began their trek to nowhere. Oddly enough, when she did turn away from viewing the surrounding landscape to look at him, she could almost swear that there was a smile hiding beneath the worn leather. Interesting.

"What's on your mind?" She halted, hunched over, and pulled off her left shoe: a darn pebble was grinding into her heel. Thomas stopped a couple steps ahead of her and watched her shake the faded shoe with distant curiosity. Kelly looked rather funny when that expression played on her lips. He thought she was cute in her annoyed state.

Too bad that he could never tell her that.

He resignedly shrugged his shoulders before the woman turned back around and resumed walking. A slight limp caused him to draw nearer to her, but she was literally one step ahead: "I'm fine Thomas. Let's keep going."

A pause while the woman looked over her pale shoulder. "Unless you want to stop and turn around…" There was a melancholy note in the way she said it; why was she unhappy? And then a thought hit him like a bolt of electricity: could it be that she tired of being cooped up in the house, just like he was at times? Thomas understood at that moment why his companion had wanted to travel down the deserted stretch of road. She was like him, in this small way.

"_Show her the meat-packing plant."_ The idea had worked its way through his myriad considerations, and now that he had focused on it, the notion didn't seem that half-bad. Thomas had stalked down this exact paved path many times over the months since his employer had closed; restlessness would settle in once in a blue moon, so he made the journey to visit his old haunt in an effort to alleviate the feverish sensation. In fact, that had been precisely where he had been coming home from when Kelly had first spotted him and stopped to ask for directions. If he hadn't arranged that visit, she might've never met him, or, in a horrible turn of things, ended up in his basement butchering room. That profound concept made the behemoth shudder noticeably, at which point Kelly's soothing voice piped up.

"Are you all right, Thomas?"

"_You have no idea."_

"You know, I've had enough exercise: we can go back now if you want."

"_I want to show you something…I want you to know me, to understand me."_ Quietly he caught up to the redhead, angled his half-covered face downward, and smiled at her. His head lightly shook, indicating that she should feel free and unrestrained to carry on with her outing. His eyes grew brighter as he caught a faint glimmer of concern in the sky-blue gaze.

"_Wow, Thomas must be enjoying himself then. But why did he shake like that? It's not __that__ cold of a breeze…"_ The young woman held back a giggle: of course she wouldn't think it was cold, not even close. Being a native of the great temperate state of New York could do that to you. Anything that passed for chilly down here would certainly hold no discomfort for her. Perhaps he was chilled then, and her prior experience with lower temperatures had made her indifferent. Kelly hoped that she hadn't come off as insensitive, but Thomas seemed to be either ignorant to the response (or lack thereof) or he wasn't cold at all. Oh, whatever. It wasn't as if he'd come out and tell her anyway.

They were amongst a stand of trees now, in an area characterized by gently rolling hills on both sides of the cracked pavement. Kelly admired the scenery, marveling at the stark contrast between the sea of pastel yellow grass and the verdant undergrowth that cloaked the shaded ground about the old trees. What were they? Oak? Maple? No, maple trees didn't occur this far south…did they?

Kelly sighed: for a student that had set her sights on being a natural scientist, her knowledge of vegetation and animals fell woefully short of the standards she'd set for herself. It was a bad habit, but the perfectionist in her, that stressful streak in her personality, was too deep-seated to be shaken off easily. At least the aspiring zoologist had learned to channel that trait into motivation for completing schoolwork. That skill had pulled her through strenuous hours of cramming for tests and tedious lectures; thankfully it had amounted to something useful.

"_I don't suppose that asking Thomas will get me any helpful information or any at all. This __is__ better than doing dishes with Luda Mae though."_ Her thoughts returned to the secretive exchange that morning, even as Thomas led the oblivious newcomer toward the approaching condemned plant.

The decrepit roof had inched its way past the horizon; the building wasn't much farther off now. Thomas shot Kelly a look of anticipation out of the corner of his eye as the meat-packing building's dilapidated structure drew itself farther up from the dusty ground, as if it had been expecting the pair and had risen to greet them. She seemed to note neither his glance nor his former workplace. He had never seen someone get lost in ruminations as often as she had, and not as deeply as she did either. His pace unconsciously quickened while he fought back the urge to reach down to take her supple hand in his rough one and lead her to the entrance. He knew his way around here quite well, and he was intent to show her everything. Explaining things would be an obstacle, but Kelly wasn't terribly thick when it came to deciphering his many gestures, so maybe that wouldn't be as great a problem. Besides, if and when she had any lingering questions, Mama could explain things to her better than he. In fact, he preferred that Mama explain it to her…what if she misunderstood or he 'said' something that she didn't like?

"_She likes animals." _

He blinked.

"_Shit."_

Of course that revelation would come to sting him now. This had been a stupid, stupid thing to do; there wasn't a chance in hell that she'd understand him!

He'd watched her eye the birds which had flitted by their room's window from time to time during the morning, seen the faraway, pleased look that would be the inevitable result. His wholesale destruction of the part of nature that she most adored wouldn't endear him to her; far from it! Add that he had been paid to do it, that he had committed the act repeatedly since he'd been around ten years old, and Thomas knew he'd be destined to become her object of intense dislike. No, he wouldn't let that happen, he had to make her lea-

"Oh! This must be the place I saw on my way…" Kelly appeared at his side next to the door as she broke her sentence with a pause, "to your house."

Kelly's pointed endeavor to distinguish the Hewitt residence as his and not theirs caused the immense man to cringe inwardly. The statement stabbed at his heart, something he'd guarded well because of his torturous school days. Kelly had reached it so easily, could hurt him so effortlessly, that the man should have been wary of her. But he wasn't, strangely enough, and he couldn't understand why any better than he could perform plastic surgery. What the hell had happened to him?

Kelly squinted into the darkened interior of the abandoned edifice: there was a faint, foul scent in the dank air within, and she could barely make out some silhouetted shapes against the back wall. Or were those outlines hanging between her and the opposing wall?

"Are those…hooks? What is this place?" Questioning eyes searched Thomas' face and body language for an answer, a sign that he knew or was as clueless as she. Had he intentionally brought her here, or had they simply happened upon it? His body language suggested to her that he was uncomfortable, unable to make up his mind, perhaps afraid. But of what? Thomas' steely silence was beginning to scare her.

"_Oh God; he's decided to kill me, is that what this is?" _

Brown eyes forcibly met hers with a look so lost that she froze. He had never looked like that before; there was no way that Thomas was considering putting an end to her life. It had to be something else. If that pitiful appearance couldn't inspire sympathy in her, then nothing would.

Quivering hands reached toward her in a deliberate and slow manner, much like what a child would do in order to soothe a scared puppy that was out of reach. It was a pleading gesture for her to trust him, and though it could've been considered as such, it was not belittling or frightening to Kelly. With a deep breath, Kelly accepted his offer, and he pulled the fair woman into a grateful hug.

Too relieved to let go for a bit, Thomas was content to press her small frame against his while he waited for his heart to cease its racing pace. Kelly was equally happy to be in that embrace. Now the chilly wind couldn't wrap its invisible fingers about her fragile body, now she was warm and safe from everything. It was her turn to blink.

Kelly had actually said that to herself…and had been okay with it. Completely and totally okay.

When he'd calmed down and thoroughly deliberated on his next actions, the towering figure grasped the young woman's shoulders and guided her in through the creaky door. Her steps were understandably hesitant, but he had only to apply a minute amount of pressure before the redhead moved forward again. Both looked about curiously, though Kelly's gaze was more so than her companion's. Deafening silence blanketed the space, rusting iron hooks hung forbiddingly from the rafters like metallic beasts out of a young child's nightmares, and…there were blood stains on the floor. An ominous aura permeated the atmosphere which surrounded the pair. Kelly could swear that it might wrap around her throat like an anaconda and strangle the breath from her. Thank God Thomas was there.

Wait.

Thomas.

Why in the hell had Thomas brought her here? Wasn't there any ordinary activity that he could think of to occupy their time? Kelly dearly regretted having frowned upon his hide-and-seek game earlier. Why had she been so impatient with him? Hadn't she known that, given how insane the Hewitt family was, that the elementary-level game was probably the closest thing she'd have to normalcy? Well, she had probably asked for it, and now she'd have to face the consequences of her poorly-constructed actions. If that meant following him around this irksome building, then so be it.

"Now what?" She wished that she felt as fearless as she had managed to sound, and vaguely wondered if her captor would see through the façade she'd created.

Thomas took notice of the hollow ring of courage in the captive's voice, but only concerned himself with the words she'd spoken at the moment. He was excited and surprised in this turn in demeanor; she was humoring him. He was certain that his very pretty 'friend' hadn't any idea as to why they were in there, but she would find out later. For now, he was itching to show her around the one place that he'd had some measure of comfort, outside of his home of course.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They were finally outside again, relishing the feel of free, weightless air that didn't cling to them with tenacious malice or what seemed like faded evil. Which is exactly what Kelly perceived it as: faint traces of cruelty, though in relation to what and whom she didn't know.

"That was…interesting." Keeping that brave act going for half an hour while Thomas had pointed at particular spots in several rooms had been the hardest test any actress could have lived through. Kelly was glad that she'd chosen a different career, though she probably wouldn't have any chance at that now either. This was as good as it was going to get. "Can I be frank with you, Thomas?"

The man had leaned against the weathered wood of the slaughtering house's front, watching his companion as she stretched and gleefully took in her new surroundings. When she asked the question, all he did was cock his head, unfold his arms so that they dangled at his sides, and gave her a much-deserved grin from behind the mask. She took that as a yes.

"To tell you the truth, this place gives me some serious heebie-jeebies. I don't know why you wanted me to go in and have a look, but I would be forever grateful to you if we never came here again." Kelly registered a change in his mood, from pleased and relaxed to an emotion which she interpreted as hurt. Geez, what had she done?

Thomas felt his heart drop when the delicately-structured woman had presented him with that final sentence. He had expected her to dislike it, had known she wouldn't be comfortable; but assuming and knowing were two entirely different things, and when he'd actually heard that sentiment come from her mouth and float over to him, cloaked in that sweetly feminine voice that he so enjoyed, he just about hung his head. Maybe getting her to understand him wasn't just a bad idea: maybe it couldn't be done period. His eyes clouded over with the bitter acknowledgement of defeat. Then, sudden and unexpected surprise…

He was being hugged.

And not a strictly friendly hug; this was an embrace meant to console him, but he felt something else in it too. He knew what it was. There wasn't a chance in hell that he'd let Kelly know that: he returned the gesture, felt her breathing quicken then relax once more, and savored the way her body felt against his. She was so close…so damned close…and her hair smelled like the wind with sunlight warming it, though the day itself was clouded over above the world. She was shaking slightly in his grasp, but not due to fear. He knew this instinctively from his years of hunting down victims and killing them, some of which he'd had to hold down as they died. That had been fear. But he didn't want to think of that now, couldn't do it anyway; a strange thought had overrun his mind. Should he listen to it?

Kelly tightened her grasp around Thomas. There had been hurt in his eyes, an emotional injury that had pained her when she'd noticed it. The woman decided, no, knew that she had to do something to alleviate the suffering and erase whatever mistake she had unwittingly made. No physical response had been given when her form had closed the gap between them, and not until after she'd made contact had the mute man moved. She felt his toned arms wrap around the small of her back, and his heart pounded against her left ear as she unthinkingly nuzzled her face into his clothed, broad chest. Kelly experienced a faint shock when she discovered that Thomas didn't smell rank or dirty, but had a scent reminiscent of Mae's kitchen: pleasant, somewhat smoky, and always filled with that comforting pale light. And with that movement, warmth had exploded in her chest, a feeling which she hadn't known since her days with Eric Bard.

It was at that moment that Kelly's mind confronted her with the emotions, thoughts, and feelings which she had ardently struggled to ignore all day. She had developed an odd bond with her huge captor, one that could only be described as a mixture of careful respect, accepted friendship…and mounting affection.

"_I do not like this man. At all, not even by a long shot."_ Her intellect laughed at her persistence, but was quick to correct her. _"You're in denial, and until you recognize where you are in this relationship there will be nothing but trouble and misunderstandings."_ Oh that impertinent little thought! Only when Kelly perceived that most of her anger was derived from her desire to ignore that possibility did the reality of it all hit her: Kelly didn't just like Thomas, she was beginning to feel something deeper. Despite his murderous activities, she'd come to see him as she did when they'd first met: a person. Thomas was achingly human, lonely, and kind to her…and she loved that about him.

Not just the self admittance to the evident affection she had for the murderer but also the depth of it sent her mentally reeling. But that was pushed aside as she almost reeled physically; Thomas had snaked his arms around her thin body and hoisted her upwards so that the mask was directly in front of her face. God, his eyes were even more heartrending this close.

Thomas held her frame tightly to himself, taking delight in the smoothness of her skin and the unexpected softness beneath her shirt. His proximity to the only woman he'd ever desired was enough to make his blood boil; he became painfully aware of some tension building in his chest, stirring an urge deep down that he couldn't shake from his mind.

"_No, I can't do that…not yet."_ Thomas didn't want to reverse the progress he seemed to have made, and besides, he certainly could be content with holding her for the time being. She apparently liked this. Why not wait?

Kelly noticed the reluctance with which the hulking figure finally lowered her, and registered a lingering reluctance within her own body. _"We could've stayed there longer…"_ She bit her lower lip as she followed the man toward the stretch of highway and away from the nightmarish building behind them.

**You lovely readers out there can thank the wonders of winter for the snow day I had today! Otherwise we might have been forced to write/read this chapter at a later date…and who likes waiting? I know I don't!  
Ajestice: Thanks again for the elaborative review-I love getting 'meatier' feedback. :D  
Demoness Writer: Thank you for your pleasurable review! You, and all my other readers, will be seeing more romance in these next updates (don't worry) mixed with some excellent action that's feverishly gripped my mind as of late. And as you said, the possibilities are endless! I wholeheartedly concur.   
As to your question concerning the existence of a 'little boy' in TCM, I believe that you are referring to Jedidiah, who to my limited knowledge appeared in the 2003 remake. My story is based upon the 2006 movie "TCM: The Beginning," in which he was not present. Since this is the sole Texas Chainsaw Massacre film that I've seen, it made sense for me to write about it. To me, this seemed like a good place to start and afforded to me unlimited avenues for my creative imagination to take in the way of possible endings and perhaps inclusion of later original characters. I appreciate your question!  
To all my reviewers: continue to give me your thoughts and reactions to The Sweetest Torture; these are just as important as criticism or lengthy responses!**

**Thanks everyone! ;-) Look for more this weekend!**


	19. Unwanted Attention

**Note: This chapter is intended to be completely in Thomas' POV…you lovely readers shall see why. It will not be entirely retold through Kelly's viewpoint, though she may have flashbacks further on.**

**Disclaimer-Although it should be apparent that I am without any rights to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, I will say so for the sake of avoiding unnecessary lawsuits and the like. I do not own the amazing Texas Chainsaw Massacre in whole or in part.**

**And Lorescien…I took your awesome request into consideration, and found that it suited my idea for this chapter wonderfully. Enjoy this update everyone. :D**

There was that grove of trees again, its beauty traversed by the harsh lines of the weather-beaten road. This remnant of a once much larger forest had hardly ever had human visitors, save for those who rushed by now and then; their metal vehicles would whistle a simultaneous greeting and farewell as the disturbed air rustled the many waiting leaves and woody stems of smaller plants in their passing. Today had come with a pleasant surprise, a surprise that had come back for a second look: a pair of younger people, one immense and muscular man with a slender woman friend, had returned to the wood in thoughtful silence. The thinning clouds opened, allowing the sun to send its rays to bathe the green copse in light as it welcomed them back, especially the girl.

Thomas sent a small gray stone scurrying across the pavement as he thudded down the highway, his gait purposefully maintained so as to stay alongside Kelly. She had smiled appreciatively at him fifteen minutes ago when the woman had finally noted his courteous gesture, but since that moment she had fallen into reticence. He wondered what she was thinking about before the hulking figure discovered that he had plenty to ponder over himself.

"_What did she think when I hugged her like that?"_ Oh yes; plenty to think on all right.

Interestingly enough, Thomas had a creeping suspicion that Kelly had enjoyed the embrace almost as much as he had. She certainly hadn't complained about it: she had neither pushed him away nor verbally assaulted the enormous man. In fact, the porcelain-skinned woman had smiled brightly at him as he'd held her so close to his masked face…and then had reluctantly withdrawn when he had set her down at long last. The day was beginning to fade, and Thomas knew that he couldn't hold that wonderful pose for very long anyway. Down she had come.

The wind chose that moment to die, bringing Thomas' mind back into reality. Home was still a ways off, and the man considered waiting here in the alcove of trees for Hoyt to drive by and pick them up. He should be making his last 'rounds' by now, as the impersonator had taken to calling his lengthy drives up and down the old way.

"_Ever since Uncle Charlie killed Sheriff Hoyt, he's been a totally different person…"_ Thomas had risen far enough out of his fear of Hoyt to understand that only **thinking** his true name wouldn't get him into trouble, but sometimes he still felt a wave of cold come over his body when he did so. The day that Charlie had shot the last policeman in the dying town was the day that Charlie Hewitt himself had died, if only by name. Everyone, he'd demanded, everyone ought to call him by his real name; and so they did and so they would continue to for as long as 'Sheriff Hoyt' persisted with his twisted fantasy.

But that line of thought didn't bring the masked man any closer to a solution for his dilemma, so he rose out of his memories for a second time. They could wait here for a while and see if Hoyt didn't come barreling down the road in his stolen patrol car…what would it hurt? Besides, Thomas desperately wanted to rest his feet, not to mention spend more time with Kelly. This way he could give her his undivided attention.

And in the event that Sheriff Hoyt had already made his rounds for the night, they could still walk home; none of the time they'd taken to wait would've been wasteful in his eyes, not if Kelly was next to him. With that final thought, Thomas halted in his tracks as the contemplative pair reached the midpoint of the wood. For the first time in the last twenty minutes Kelly looked at Thomas over her shoulder with a curious expression upon her features. Her arms uncrossed as she questioned him.

"What's up Thomas? Why are you stopping?"

He allowed his eyes to sweep over her visage once before he gestured to the side of the road; a large oak with sprawling roots towered to their right, and he could just make out a good place to sit and relax at its base. Kelly's gaze followed the motion; the pale blue orbs took the scene in with mild interest before understanding filled them. At that moment she turned her body around to face him and then walked closer to him, giving him such an inquisitive look that Thomas was tempted to laugh at her. In a friendly way, of course, not condescendingly.

"You want to stop and sit down?" He nodded his usual mute answer.

"But it's getting late Thomas…it'll be dark soon." She paused to throw the tree a longing stare. "As much as I'd like to rest, I really don't want to walk back in the dark. That doesn't sit well with me."

Thomas considered the woman's statement for a moment, wondering if she were afraid of the dark. No matter: he wasn't going to take no for an answer, and even if Uncle Hoyt wouldn't get them, Kelly would have him next to her on the dusky way back. She would have nothing to fear so long as he was near to her.

Ironic, if one took into account that anybody who had passed through here hadn't been fearful of the night, but of the chainsaw wielding maniac named Thomas Hewitt. The irony made him snicker quietly to himself. A small, pale hand being waved in his face got his attention. That slightly annoyed frown adorned Kelly's face once again, the very same one which he'd seen her shoot at Hoyt when he wasn't looking. He tilted his head at her, staring into her eyes with a tired appearance plastered on his own countenance. Her frown faded with the corners of her mouth softening as she noted the fatigue in his posture.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to sit down for a bit then." Thomas rewarded her cooperation with a pleased grin from behind the leather mask. Persuading the captive to stay hadn't been as difficult as he'd expected. Over to the mature tree they went, Thomas being the first of the two to take a seat. His descent was mimicked by Kelly, who slowly lowered herself down with a pained grimace.

"I have a cramp, nothing major." she explained before focusing on the now ragged sneakers on her feet. These she removed in one fluent motion, flinging the dejected shoes some feet away. After Kelly had discarded her socks in a similar manner she stretched out; the tree trunk was her backrest while the soft green grass surrounding the tree was a pillow for her abused feet. Thomas was finally able to watch her unabashedly when she'd closed her eyes appreciatively; perhaps Kelly would fall asleep beside him. Thankful that he wouldn't need to continue viewing her loveliness from out of the corner of his hazelnut eyes, Thomas grinned to himself while he shifted onto his right side. It was then that he noticed them for the first time.

Flowers. Many, many beautiful wildflowers in a small clearing beyond the svelte woman he'd been busily admiring. Thomas had to stop himself from clapping in sheer delight at his lucky find. Clapping would disturb and wake Kelly from her nap, and he wanted the element of surprise on his side. She would be so thrilled!

_"Did Kelly see it? No, she couldn't have noticed: she would have said something to me or herself…"_ Cautiously he rose, careful not to snap the few twigs at his feet or rustle any smaller plants; when this had been accomplished successfully he bounded off happily, seeking out the best blooms with his zealous gaze. Nothing but the best of these would go to her, the nicest girl he had ever met.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tiny purple buds were held next to gaudy yellow petals and blood red blossoms in Thomas' clenched hand. He had combed over about half the field now, his awareness sharply bent on discovering the most beautiful secrets this hidden, forgotten place had to offer. The booted feet maneuvered with attentive precision through the tufts of dense growth as Thomas knelt down-he'd spotted another prize, this one a delicate lavender-colored sprout with broad, dark green leaves along its thick stem. Thomas marveled at the vast number of flowers that had survived the drought and heat of this summer; every last one of the field blossoms which were known to mature among the farmers' crops had disappeared earlier in the year. Come to think of it, he hadn't caught sight of any flowering plants near his home since late April had passed.

The vague curiosity concerning that instance was dismissed as the hulking figure caught a faint cry in his ears. He straightened his back and strained his hearing, attempting to discover the source of the call. It had sounded familiar. Not until the screech echoed about him for a second time did he realize what it was, or rather who it was.

Kelly!

His body rose with the agility and swiftness of a great cat.

Her shouts were being muffled by something…or someone.

Thomas had covered twenty feet before he realized that he was running with reckless abandon, the sought after plants still firmly held in his left hand. The aged oak wasn't too far now, and Thomas was a hell of a runner. But the pride he derived from knowing such a thing was trivial now; the sole idea that Thomas' whirling mind could concentrate on was how he was going to save Kelly…and then how he was going to kill whatever unfortunate thing had troubled her.

A shadow in the waning light which filtered into the wood, Thomas slunk from tree trunk to tree trunk with all the stealth he could muster. He felt much like he had when he'd found that Kelly had left her car the first night of her 'stay,' every sense in his body magnified in the effort to locate and catch her. The difference between that relatively playful excursion and what was happening now was that he felt an urgency to find his object of affection. Dimly he registered another as he craned his neck around yet another trunk to check for movement: there was an explosion of anger setting fire to every muscle in his body, pouring out of a much deeper place within him, the place where he'd bottled up the hurt and hate that had accumulated over the long, lonesome years.

Kelly would not be taken from him.

No one would ever hurt her.

He would make damned certain of that.

With a slow, deep breath to control his boiling rage, Thomas shifted into the thoughtless stupor he used whenever he had to deal with or hunt down victims. Another handful of hiding spots later, he could make out a hushed conversation between two voices. The predominant one was cocky, gruff and harsh, while the second was meek, sweet, and terrified.

"Please, I don't live around here. I can't help you-"

"C'mon sweetheart: I been walkin' down this fuckin' road fer an hour! There's gotta be someplace nearby that's got a mechanic or a phone…when I find Rick, I'mma kick his ever-lovin' ass fer screwin' up my hog!"

Thomas' eyes narrowed; the other person must be a man, and a biker at that.

"_How __dare__ that piece of trash talk to Kelly like that!?"_ Thomas snuck closer and was met with a view of a heavyset man's back; a soft whimpering drifted to the onlooker from beyond the leather jacket the biker wore-Kelly was still seated at the oak's base.

"Oh honey! You've got some nice titties! Wanna show me?" The leather-clad figure leaned down as Kelly's voice croaked out a defiant protest. Whatever she'd say, the man's tone grew nastier as he leered at the quivering figure. "Y'know, yer so much prettier when ya keep yer mouth shut!"

"_Why doesn't she run?"_ Thomas didn't think Kelly was a girl to cry and take abuse; she was too strong for that. His answer came in her next audible sob.

"Please…don't stab me, I have a friend with me-"

"Don't gimme _that_ routine babe. I know you ain't got nobody with ya." He paused; probably giving her a look over. Thomas dropped the flowers as he gripped the nearest branch: as much as his angrily shaking body wanted to lunge and wrestle the jackass to the ground, he needed to figure out where his knife was. For a fleeting moment he wished that he'd brought his handy chainsaw along; as irritating as it would have been to lug it around, the cumbersome tool would surely have made it worth the effort now.

The bastard across the small clearing dropped onto his left knee and reached out a grimy hand to where Thomas knew Kelly should be. His action was met with a fuming, "Get your hand off me!" And that was Thomas' cue.

The massive form charged out of the shadowy undergrowth like a raging bull, his feet striking the ground just as rumbling thunder would cause windows to shudder in their panes. Immense arms gripped the thug from behind, jerked him off the ground, and heaved the leather-clad man into nearby bushes in a single effort. The masked man stalled in his attack long enough to give Kelly an anxious glance and gesture for her to remain at the base of the great oak.

Again he turned a murderous glare to the perpetrator: a stocky man who was easily dwarfed by the woman's rescuer, his greasy blonde hair rose to just meet Thomas' mid-shoulder.

"_This will be easy."_ During the glance at Kelly he had noticed that the other man's knife lay on the ground with its blade sandwiched between two lesser roots of his handpicked tree. Without the weapon this victim would succumb without trouble…but not before Thomas Hewitt made him regret the last free moments of his life. As the murderer stalked toward his quavering prey, the biker pleaded with him in tremulous tones.

"Oh c'mon man, I wasn't gonna hurt her or nothin'…I mean," he forced a half-hearted grin onto his unshaven face and gave a feeble laugh, "can't a guy have a little fun?"

Thomas froze; his fury had escalated into such a seething hatred for the coward before him that he couldn't continue walking. But he felt that he could at least answer the stupid man's question: the cracked mask rose and fell slowly as Thomas nodded in response. This was only the beginning of the torture this biker had in store for him.

"Gee, thanks man…" the nod had imbued the jerk with a false sense of security, a mistaken assumption which he would pay dearly for. Thomas remained where he stood for only a moment longer before he saw what he'd waited for: the blonde man relaxed his muscles and made to walk past his opponent. That was a grave mistake.

A right hook sent the biker falling hard down onto the grass, and a swift kick into his ribs left him winded. Thomas smirked maliciously into the terrified gaze that stared up at him: this would be fun. Repeatedly his prey was kicked, punched, and picked up then thrown down again until blood ran freely from his nose and a few bones had been broken noticeably. Thomas had wanted to beat him mercilessly at first, but a thought had occurred to him as he straightened his back and admired his handiwork. Since the biker was in no shape whatsoever to move of his own accord, Thomas felt confident enough to leave him for a moment. A twig snapped behind him.

The hulking figure whirled around to find Kelly standing a few feet away, using a sapling's trunk as a support and keeping her eyes glued to Thomas. It was obvious that she disliked what was going on, but she said nothing as she stepped closer to Thomas and ignored the man's raspy pleas for help.

Kelly stopped directly in front of her captor, looking into his eyes with a pleading demeanor of her own. "Thomas…I think he gets the idea. Can we go now?" Her face was bathed in moonlight and beautiful as ever, a slight smile of encouragement turning up the corners of her pink mouth. The stern expression of anger dissolved into a comforting grin as Thomas stared into her pleasant visage. He was glad that she hadn't run and that she had come to him. Glancing back over his muscular shoulder the masked man decided, for the first time in his life, that he would let this one go. Bastard had to have learned his lesson with a beating like that.

It was only when he'd started to leave with his companion that he noted something on the slender woman's right cheek, something he only just caught as she'd turned away.

He caught her slender upper arm in a gentle grasp, brought his other hand around to reach under her chin and moved her visage back into the light. There it was: a darkening of the skin on her right cheekbone- the beginnings of a bruise.

He'd hit her. That worm had hit her.

And for that he would die.

"Thomas! You're hurting me!" Thomas had tightened his grip without noticing; he apologized by releasing her arm and hanging his head slightly. "You aren't going to let him live, are you?" How had she known?

"_Anyone who hurts you asks to die and for me to kill them."_ He nodded before making to return to what he'd started…and intended to finish. The idiot had managed to crawl a couple paces away, but no amount of effort would get him to safety.

"I guess you'll want this then." Her voice held a resigned note in it, as if she were giving him silent permission to carry out the task. Thomas faced his captive and was met with the handle of a knife…she was offering the weapon to him with its blade nestled in her closed hand. His gaze connected with hers, surprise and gratitude evident in his eyes. Carefully he accepted the knife from Kelly before watching her slender figure retreat toward the edge of the clearing, where she sat down with her back to him and held her hands over her ears.

Thomas looked down at the blade he had in his grip: so she couldn't stomach the concept or watch it happen, but she hadn't protested it either. Was she actually accepting his role in the cruel, barren world?

He could mull over that exciting development later; he had business to attend to at the moment. The moans of a dying animal- for that is what Thomas considered the biker to be- rang in his ears as he transformed into a killer for the final time that night. The comparable giant followed the trail of bent grass to the source of the pitiful noise and almost laughed. The moron still couldn't get up. Thomas bent over the fatigued body, searching his mind for the best place to harm the victim without mortally wounding him. The blade plunged deep into the spot where a kidney should be, eliciting a shriek as pain apparently racked his fat body. Thomas let the knife's serrated edge cut farther into the bleeding flesh for the space of a few seconds before he roughly tore it out.

Futile screams echoed across the empty fields which surrounded the copse, and then silence reigned. Thomas, out of respect for Kelly, had cut the man's throat and put an end to his pain. The woman couldn't have shielded her ears well enough to have missed those irritating cries. Usually the petrified bawls of his victims were satisfying to the killer, but for some reason he hadn't gotten any hint of fulfillment from this ordeal at all. How odd.

Thomas deserted the broken body, leaving it right where it lay in the overgrown grasses and weeds, to rush back for Kelly. He wanted to make sure that she was okay, needed to show her that she was safe, and then hold her until she was smiling again.

When Thomas found her Kelly was still huddled on the ground, her figure shaking with the exertion of weeping. Quietly he drew nearer while slowly extending both well-built arms toward her body. When she did not respond (he must have been very quiet) he hunched over and got on his knees in front of her. Touching her left shoulder made Kelly jump, a look of horror upon her face. Then she must've realized that it was Thomas, not the greasy bastard, that had found her, and she flashed such a relieved grin that Thomas himself smiled. The smile temporarily faded into surprise as the massive man was nearly knocked onto his back by Kelly's unexpected jump into his lap. Her arms wrapped around his neck as her face pressed into the hot skin of his neck. She was hugging him again, though this hug was much different from before: she trembled from the shock of what had just transpired and firmly pushed her form further against the masked man's torso. She gripped him as if she would be swallowed by the dark night should she let go…as if she needed him. Thomas took pleasure in that realization as he held Kelly in his comforting grasp, an embrace that he wished would last forever.

**Thank you all so much for waiting so patiently: I'm so happy to have this latest development out of my head and on the screen at last! I look forward to hearing your opinions, concerns, ideas and general reaction later…but for now my body is screaming relentlessly at me. I need sleep as badly as any college student needs coffee (or tea) XD**

**Reviews are cherished and sought after! Until next weekend my dears!**


	20. Giving In

**Life comes at you fast, just like in those commercials. It's true. I apologize for the abominable delay…but I promise that you'll forgive me after you're done reading. But hey- don't take my word for it: read already! And don't forget to leave a review! ;-) Hint hint.**

Immediately after Hoyt had discovered the pair by the side of the road he'd told them to get in; after yelling at Thomas to 'park his wide ass in the back where it belonged,' he had made a noticeable effort to get Kelly into the front passenger seat. She'd passed it up, of course, as courteously as possible, and promptly scooted into the back next to his nephew where she felt it was safe. Thank goodness he hadn't pressed her about it.

"Don't know what the hell got into yer head, Tommy, but you'd better not leave again without tellin' Mama 'bout it, ya understand?" Hoyt's annoyed and severe voice boomed about the patrol car's dark interior from his position in the driver's seat. Thomas nodded mechanically in his usual silent answer, even though he didn't think that Hoyt could see him anyway. Best to play it safe, especially considering the foul mood that Hoyt was in now.

"I'm sorry Sheriff Hoyt. I could've told Luda Mae that we were leaving-" Kelly began.

"Oh don't be silly Miss Kelly; it ain't yer responsibility to do things that the boy should be doin' on his own." The older man looked over his uniformed shoulder to grin at the family's 'guest.'  
"'sides, he's the one that's lived here all his life- he should know better." Hoyt ended his long-winded speech with a glare into his rearview mirror toward the space Thomas occupied.

Listening to the irritable man go on and on had been trying, even for Kelly. She had bristled inwardly with every merciless stab at Thomas' intelligence and existence in general; at one point in the man's tirade, when Hoyt had called Thomas a pansy for not stabbing the victim more, Kelly had had to fight down a sudden and passionate urge to slap Hoyt soundly in his wretched, unshaven face. What had irked her more than that, however, was his purposefully polite demeanor toward her. Not that Kelly wanted him to bitch at her, but…the impression that she got from his discreet remarks was a distinctly unsettling one. And the fair-skinned woman thought she knew where he intended to go with that too. She would have to put a stop to this, and fast.

"_But what to do?"_ Kelly chanced a sidelong glance at the hulking figure to her left, her companion in the backseat. A smile crept onto her pale features as an idea entered her mind. Her left hand rose from its place on her lap, slid atop the leather fabric of the seat, and came to rest on the back of Thomas' hand. Thomas made no movement to show that he'd noticed. _"Must be preoccupied with what Hoyt's been drilling into him."_ A throb of sympathy overcame her being, and in that something more- affection and the associated anger of seeing him being mistreated. Her fingers wrapped between his thumb and index finger, reaching his calloused palm, and she gave his hand a squeeze.

A soft, warm pressure on his right hand brought Thomas out of his train of thought. His brown eyes darted to his lap, looking for the source of the disturbance: Kelly's hand was holding his. He was stunned. _"Where did this come from?"_ He dared a shy glance in the woman's direction and found that she was watching him out of the corner of her eye, the beginnings of a smile twitched her mouth's corners. _"Who cares?"_ He shifted her hand in his so that he had his large palm covering hers in a gentle grasp. As his thumb began to stroke her knuckles, he turned his face toward hers ever so slightly, and flashed a contented smile.

The car screeched to an abrupt halt.

"_Just what I'd suspected."_ Kelly wished that she could glare at Hoyt openly, among other things, as she rubbed an aching temple. _"Just what I need- my forehead slammed into something when I'm already getting a headache. Thanks jackass."_

"Sorry 'bout that: damned rabbit ran straight 'cross the road!" His voice dripped with evident displeasure. Apparently he'd caught sight of Thomas' gestures to Kelly. That would not do.

The redhead suddenly felt gripped by horror; if Hoyt was trying to make moves on her, and he thought Thomas would get in the way, what would he do? She felt a bit responsible for what had happened, and in that guilt-ridden state she attempted to withdraw her porcelain hand back into her lap.

Thomas, however, wouldn't have it; his grip tightened just enough to secure her hand in his, and he averted his eyes so as not to draw any more unwanted attention from the man whom he hated ardently. He wished that he had the confidence to speak, to tell Kelly what was on his mind at the moment, to ask her not to believe whatever crap came out of Hoyt's mouth. Thomas wished that he had the courage to tell Hoyt off and shout at him to leave Kelly alone and to announce that she was his and that he wasn't sharing, least of all with the 'Sheriff.' Sure, Mama could have her for cleaning and such, but apart from that the woman was **his**.

"_She likes __me__."_ He thought, the realization making him puff out his chest in triumph. "_She hates you and likes __me__."_ The bulky man was fatigued from his struggle with the disgusting biker and the long walk he'd shared with the auburn-haired guest, but he still possessed quite a bit of energy…if Hoyt touched her he'd knock him to the ground as if he were nothing but a rag doll. With that visual to entertain him, Thomas resumed watching the outside fields fly by the racing patrol car.

Kelly was in an equally deep train of thought. _"Why doesn't that son of a bitch treat his family with more respect? What the hell's so great about him that he thinks its okay to talk to Thomas like that?"_ Her eyes glazed over as she retreated still deeper into her ruminations, though she rose out of it at intervals to forcibly keep herself from grinding her teeth in frustration. Adding to his disgusting lack of familial love that the older man evidently wanted to associate with her in a very inappropriate way, and Kelly couldn't hold back a thought that, at one time, she would've felt sick over.

"_I wish Thomas would kill him."_ The idea was strangely appealing to her, and for a brief and wild moment she actually considered bringing it up to Thomas when they found themselves alone again. But her meditation over the subject led her into other mental avenues, and she forgot it at once. One avenue in particular astounded her: she'd completely forgotten about the murders to which she had been an eyewitness. How could she have possibly done such a thing?

"_Have I gone insane? Where did my morals go? I'm identifying with a murderer who shows no remorse whatsoever for the pain he's caused others…people he didn't even know…" _Quietly Kelly struggled within herself, wondering if she had indeed lost her mind or if her focus had simply been removed from that horrible affair for different reasons. _"I'm adapting; I've changed in order to survive. That's all. And it's worked so far, hasn't it? Yes, much better than I could've hoped for had I been consciously trying: I'm like his…friend. He protected me from that sickening biker, so he has to have some kind of attachment to me. I'm valuable to him…good, that's good."_ Her forehead creased slightly in a contemplative expression. _"What I can't understand is his exact take on this entire thing. Hugging is all good and well, but when he stroked my cheek like that…that's more intimate. Does he know that?"_ Kelly looked over at Thomas from the corner of her eye, as if something in his posture would give her all the answers she wanted so badly to have. Ultimately she gleaned nothing from the seconds-long glance, and turned her attention back out the window. _"He's probably socially awkward, though to what extent I can't possibly guess…maybe I should ask Luda Mae about it? She has got to be chock-full of stories about her little boy."_ At that mental comment she almost laughed; a smile crossed her face and her eyes shone with mirth.

Meanwhile, Thomas was stewing in his own rampant and confusing considerations. His hand still held onto Kelly's despite her ceased endeavor to return her small hand to her lap. He took the time to marvel at how much smaller it was than his own, how perfectly it fit inside his grasp, and that amazingly smooth skin against the calluses he'd acquired through hard labor…God that felt good. Idly he stroked his thumb along the top of her hand as he began to think. Her grip loosened noticeably as she relaxed her muscles.

"_Does she like me in the same way that I like her? Or is she just trying to comfort me?"_ He recalled the stories that Mama told him, when he'd still been in school, about what boys and girls did to show that they 'liked liked' one another. He remembered something with a sudden thrill of hope: holding hands was one of those things! And seeing as how Kelly had reached for his hand, didn't that mean that she felt that way about him?

Thomas was shaken out of his trance by the jolt which announced that the car had reached the familiar dirt driveway which led to their home. Outside the opposite car window, the masked man could make out Mama's silhouette waiting for them on the dimly-lit porch, her arms crossed and her apron askew. She must have been worried…that realization made a knot of guilt tighten in his stomach. He hated disappointing Mama.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Food's almost cold." Luda Mae was not pleased, not in the least, and she had a painfully obvious way of letting everyone know it. Kelly felt a chill spread down her spine and into her arms and legs; she didn't like this side of the typically kind older woman. Luda Mae was the only other person in the disturbing household that she had taken a liking to.

"I'm sorry ma'am- Thomas and I shouldn't have stopped. We could've gotten back here much sooner." Kelly offered a weak smile as Mae turned her attention from the china plates she'd been passing out to the seated redhead.

"I ain't mad at you two Dearie, I like that ya spent some time t'gether." The elderly woman returned the smile. "I ain't happy with Hoyt is all; asked him to look for ya and he took too damned long." The trio, gathered around the dining table, listened as the following silence was broken by singing from the bathroom. "I swear," Luda sat near the head of the clothed table, "his singing gets worse every year."

Kelly giggled as a particularly off-key note jolted the peaceful atmosphere. Her eyes met Thomas'. He was watching her with a rehearsed blank face. That blank stare earned him a pout. "Oh c'mon Thomas, that was funny. Laugh." She playfully stuck out her tongue at the hulking figure across from her.

Thomas' sole response was to raise his eyebrows at the woman, but on the inside he was laughing, just as she had asked him to. He was in an unusually good mood now, as he had learned not only that Mama wasn't angry with him and that Kelly was definitely on more than friendly terms with him, but he'd also been pleased when Luda Mae had hollered at his uncle for not 'getting his uniformed ass in gear' sooner. While he mused over the day's events, a slight lift in the corners of his mouth signified to Kelly that he was in good spirits right along with her, even after that horrid car ride with Hoyt.

Then again, anything involving Hoyt was going to be horrid.

"_Shock waves would certainly rock the universe if that ever changed."_ Kelly pinched her arm to prevent herself from getting carried away and snickering to herself like a madwoman. The last thing this place needed was another lunatic. Or did it have any to begin with? Kelly's mind froze as that last thought resounded through her head. Had she just seriously entertained the idea that these people weren't insane, murderous monsters in sheep's clothing?

Unbelievable.

Thomas' eyes swam into focus as Luda Mae's effort to lift her dinner plate away brought her attention back to the present. His eyebrows were closer together, a concerned and confused gaze fixed on her paler-than-usual visage. She must look inexplicably frightened to him. Damn; he'd want an answer when they were back in his room.

"_Oh well, no matter- I'll cook something up while I help Luda Mae with the dishes."_ Her slender figure rose from the heavy oak chair, turned toward the kitchen, and made its way to the kitchen door. Or tried to; Thomas had risen right along with the young woman, determined where she was headed, and moved into her path, effectively cutting her advance to her chores off. "Thomas, Luda Mae needs my help in there."

Thomas merely shook his head and continued to stare down at her from behind the cracked mask.

"Stop being silly." The stern tone she used toward him was betrayed by the ghost of a smirk that lit up her face as Hoyt went into his finale, ending with a note so shrill and off-key that even Thomas could've burst out laughing, if it weren't for his concentration on his companion. Kelly stood there for a moment, and then another, before she dramatically held her arms akimbo and released an exaggerated sigh. "Thomas…don't make me tattle on you." She cocked an eyebrow at him playfully, yet she had meant what she'd said. If he wouldn't listen to her, then he would most certainly listen to 'Mama,' as she'd heard Hoyt refer to the matriarch. Odd, but she wasn't about to comment on the harmless weirdo shit they did around here.

"Don't you worry none Dearie; yer pro'ly tuckered out by now. You just git on up ta bed. You too Tommy." Luda Mae's response hadn't been what the redhead had hoped for, and she was on the verge of protesting the woman's decision when Thomas' strong arms snaked under her knees and behind the small of her back. She was lifted, almost effortlessly it seemed, into midair before both moved forward, up the wooden, creaky staircase, and into the small bedroom that they'd emerged from that morning. Her back gently met the bed.

Thomas straightened up and watched as Kelly stretched out into a comfortable position on his bed. She hadn't reacted when he'd scooped her up and carried her to his room, and now, as she lay before him, he couldn't help but feel some strange emotion well up to his conscious. Damn…he wanted her again.

Really.

Really.

_Really_ badly.

This was going to be a long night.

As he had mentally struggled with that sudden onslaught of tempting emotions, Thomas had unwittingly puffed out his chest, straightened to his full height, and stared down at the lovely woman with a clouded expression. He came back to reality when the sound of soft laughter rang in his ears. It was the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard.

"What is it Thomas? Why are you just standing there?" Her amused smile was a bit lopsided; Thomas grinned down at her. He thought that was cute, but he would never tell her that- Mama had told him once that girls didn't like being called cute, because 'most girls wanna be taken seriously Tommy, an' if ya call 'em cute, they'll think yer messin' with 'em.' He dimly registered her fading smile, and cocked his head as an expression of understanding crossed Kelly's porcelain face.

"You can sleep next to me you know, I don't mind." He blinked at her: had she really just said that? "It's not really fair to you…y'know, having to sleep on the floor of your own bedroom…" A guilt-ridden look darkened her features. Thomas was floored- she was worried about how comfortable he was? He shuddered as his lungs forced him to breathe. Had he been holding his breath? Absentmindedly he kicked his shoes off, walked to the other side of the mattress, and stopped. His brown eyes settled on the empty half of the bed, darted to Kelly's face, finding willing approval on it, and glanced back to his half of the mattress. Slowly he lowered his massive frame onto the sheets; this was all so surreal to him, in fact he was almost certain that he had fallen asleep at the dinner table and was currently in the best dream of his life. He was afraid that one false move would ruin everything.

Apparently Kelly was getting impatient with him.

Thomas had lowered himself midway to the bed when his arm nearest to Kelly was forcefully grabbed; he was pulled into a sitting position atop the bedspread. His masked countenance jerked in her direction. That amazing lopsided grin was beaming at him again. "You don't usually take all night to settle in, do you?" She was only teasing him, but his face revealed his embarrassment. Thomas couldn't help but feel like he was in over his head: she was too pretty, too nice…he couldn't possibly be worthy of her attention. He knew, just knew that it was only a matter of time before he did something to screw this up, and then she would hate him again, maybe even fear him…just like everybody else. Just like Jenny Weaver. He couldn't let that happen. Not again, and not with her.

Kelly's heart just about ripped in half. Thomas was fixing such a forlorn and wretched gaze on her that she couldn't help but feel sympathetic toward him. After all, he'd saved her life, not to mention never laid a hand on her, especially given the fact that he'd demonstrated his mastery in that area when butchering strangers. And when he'd touched her face like that…a pleasant shot of heat ran through her body at the memory.

So she wasn't surprised at herself when she found that her right hand had, seemingly by itself, cupped the side of Thomas' face. His hazel eyes cleared immediately, his expression one of initially shock and then obvious hope as she smiled directly at him in a reassuring manner. "Hey, I don't have a problem with you sleeping in your own bed. Don't worry about it. Besides, it gets cold at night, and you're pretty damned warm." And just to make certain that he didn't have any more doubts about the arrangement Kelly gently pulled the muscular man into a light hug, her left arm reaching his shoulder blades while the right hand kept to his jaw line, her thumb stroking the mask gently.

Thomas was hesitant at first, but allowed her to gingerly guide him forward before he accepted the gesture by hugging her back. He nestled his face into the hollow of her neck, enjoying the steady pulse of her jugular artery against his cheekbone while his arms circled her back and waist. The stroking of her thumb against his mask felt so good; if only that damned thing wasn't in the way…he wanted to know what her fingertips would feel like on his face, lightly pressing into and caressing the skin that had for so long not even enjoyed the summer breeze. His ruminations melted into nothingness as her throat vibrated against his hidden visage: she was humming. To him. For him.

He could die, right now, and be happy.

Thomas was no longer concerning himself with supporting his own weight, and as Kelly wasn't quite strong enough to keep the two of them somewhat upright, she began to be pushed backward until she was lying on her back. Thomas raised his head from her neck to survey their new position, and discovered that Kelly had an odd look in her blue eyes. He'd never seen that type of gaze before, but something about it told him that he wasn't screwing up. It excited him in a way that he'd never experienced prior to this… his body felt odd and yet incredibly good. He continued to gaze at her, his breathing growing shallower and faster, hovering over her frame, his mind no longer in conflict with his body over what he wanted to do, but something held him back. It was as if he felt that he needed an indication of her approval before he could touch her, before he could press his lips against the soft skin of her neck, right over the spot where her pulse was now beating wildly, before he could slide his hands along her sides and graze her stomach with his fingertips. And, of course, imagining these things led him to feel a more urgent need, a desire that threatened to overwhelm him but was stayed only by his intensifying fear that she wouldn't show him that she wanted him to come closer, or worse…the fear that she'd reject him. That alone would paralyze him.

Kelly was fighting her own battles. As soon as she'd registered how close Thomas was to her, not to mention the position she was in, she'd ceased to move. She'd blanked out for a few moments, not knowing what to do next, watching Thomas for his reaction as his deep brown eyes had glazed over in an evident mental retreat. He was deep in thought. Kelly soon followed suit. Her body had certainly noted Thomas' close proximity, the fact that he was a very strong, very well built man, certainly capable of…dear God.

What was she thinking?

She blinked. _"Yeah, what __am__ I thinking?"_ Kelly bit her lower lip. She knew it; she just wouldn't admit it to herself, refused to believe that side of her. Her logical side, however, was becoming ever quieter and quieter. Kelly noticed that Thomas' eyes had cleared: he was studying her face intently, waiting…waiting patiently for a response. She blinked again. A realization made its way to the center of her attention. He cared about her. Wasn't that obvious by now?

"_He saved my life, brought me up here after I'd fainted, even now he won't force himself on me without my express permission when he so clearly wants me…when he could do anything he wanted to even if I fought him."_ Her body shivered, whether from the hormones running rampant through her system or due to that last thought, she couldn't be sure.

"Thomas." His breathing was silenced, the shallower inhalations fading into nothing as his senses sharpened. Her face relaxed into a grin once more, as if she'd discovered a piece of candy that she'd saved but forgotten about. "You care about me."

It was a statement, not a question at all, but Thomas nodded in response all the same. And that, evidently, was enough for Kelly. _"Not __what__ was I thinking, stupid brain of mine,"_ a mischievous gleam danced in her eyes, _"but __why__."_

Thomas felt a building pressure on his left jaw line, where Kelly's hand had rested and idly stroked his mask. She was bringing his face closer to hers…why? And why was she closing her eyes? And her lips were…wow.

That was the cue he'd been waiting for.

He kissed her, a soft and uncertain kiss that was more of a test than a kiss. That didn't last long- his years of loneliness and despair seemed to drop away, out of memory, the longer he was in contact with her, and she tasted good. Her lips were incredibly soft; he didn't know anything could be that soft…except for the softness he felt on his chest, where he still semi-hovered over the faded cloth that covered her breasts. He promptly ignored those for the moment as he withdrew and glanced into Kelly's pleased eyes before firmly pressing his lips into hers again, enjoying every aspect of it before his coherent thought slipped away entirely.

**Ah, I've been longing to get to this good stuff for a while now, but didn't want to rush into it…would've ruined the story for me. Anywho, I want to thank all you lovely readers for sharing and enjoying this story with me. More coming soon!  
As a side note, I've recently discussed a part of the story with a friend, and she asked me why I hadn't done Thomas' characterization correctly. He is mentally challenged in the films, which I've been aware of, but for the purposes of my story I decided to make him a more socially-inept personality than someone who's "slow." Like Uncle Charlie said in The Beginning: "He ain't retarded, just misunderstood."**


	21. At Last

He had never dreamed that this could happen. Not to him, not in his lifetime, not like this.

Thomas gazed into her blue eyes, taking in every moment. Her breathing was shallow, quick, and with every breath he felt a stir of air across his exposed face. Her body underneath his felt so natural and right that his prior apprehensive mood had evaporated into a pleasant sort of hazy contentment. He let his mind wander a bit as he enjoyed knowing that his Kelly was so close and even returning his displays of affection.

"Take your mask off."

His breath caught in his throat. He focused on her face again and raised his eyebrows as the rest of his body froze. Had she actually asked him, or had he imagined it?

Kelly half smiled, as if she were uncertain of whether to proceed or not. Taking a deep breath, she dared to ask again. "Thomas, I'm not sure why you wear that mask…but could I see your face? Please?"

He continued to stare into her eyes, his face surprisingly blank considering what she'd asked of him. He was…he wasn't sure what he felt right now. Maybe he felt disgust with himself? Shock at the very idea? Fear that she'd loathe him and perhaps never let him alone with her again?

Was he ready to let himself be that vulnerable?

Kelly must have sensed his inner turmoil over the request because he heard her lyrical voice weave its way through his thoughts. "I'm sorry Thomas," her voice was a pleasant whisper, "I was just so curious to finally see your face that I didn't think about how I was putting you on the spot. Tell you what: why don't you just do whatever makes you feel comfortable, okay?" She smiled reassuringly and somewhat apologetically at her roommate.

He thought for a moment before finally replying with a nod. There were several things he could think of comfortably doing at that moment, and none of them involved his mask. _"__Not __yet.__Sometime __soon, __but __not __yet.__"_ Thomas absentmindedly stroked Kelly's right cheek with his thumb as he began to wonder how soon _soon_ would be. There was no telling, but at least he got the feeling that she wouldn't scream or try to run. Hopefully.

Kelly was amused by the way Thomas had 'zoned out' again, leaving her free to do some thinking of her own. Her mind whirled with conflicting thoughts and emotions, some she desperately wanted to ignore, others she struggled to focus on. _"__I __can__'__t __possibly __love __him, __this __is __wrong!__He __has __murdered __innocent __people __with __no __obvious __signs __of __remorse!__From __a __moral __standpoin t__he __is __the __lowest __of __the __low, __and __I __cannot __allow __myself __to __sympathize __or __attach __to __him. __If __I __have __to __befriend __him __to __survive __and __gain __his __trust, __then __I__'__ll __do __what __I __have __to __do.__"_

"_You __know __you __can__'__t __do __that __now, __you__'__re __too __attached __to __him. __You __keep __trying __to __justify __your __actions __and __explaining __the__ '__right __thing__' __to __yourself, __but __to __what __end?__Who __are __you __trying __to __justify __yourself __to? __There __is __no __one __to __answer __to __here, __no __one __to __impress__…__except __Thomas. __Why __are __you __fighting __this __so __much?__"_ Kelly furrowed her brow as she tried to sort out the answer. The longer and more intensely she thought, the harder it was to ignore the truth under it all.

"_I __love __Thomas.__" _ Kelly's mind quieted, and she welcomed the calm. Admitting that to her inner self had been difficult yet oddly easy at the same time. Part of her still fought against her ever stronger feelings for the hulking masked man, but it was rapidly weakening. At long last, Kelly felt that she didn't have to scrutinize every action and thought to see if it was right or wrong. Now it was a choice between being happy and surviving and being miserable and possibly dying. And somehow, during these few short days, she had come to love Thomas and feel like she was supposed to be there. Maybe her presence was for a greater purpose, maybe it was Fate, or maybe just how the cosmic dice had rolled…but that didn't make a difference now. All that mattered was that she let Thomas know and keep him happy.

"Thomas?" His eyes focused on hers again, and she noticed the corners of his mouth turn upwards just beyond his mask. She suddenly felt a gentle sensation on the top of her head: Thomas was playing with her hair. "I want to tell you something important, and I'm…" Thomas cocked his head when she hesitated, "I'm a little nervous about telling you." He looked contemplative for a second, and then seemed to reassure her by cupping her cheek with his large hand.

Kelly took a deep breath and forced her anxiety to quiet down. Her cheeks grew hot as she blushed deeply, which Thomas immediately noticed. He could obviously feel the change because he broke eye contact and studied her glowing cheek for a moment. A light seemed to light in his eyes, but he resumed his gaze into her azure eyes and waited for her to speak again.

"Thomas Hewitt…I love you." She whispered softly to him, completely still and never taking her eyes off of his. Her heart threatened to beat right out of her chest; she could swear that Thomas could feel it. Kelly held her gaze a few seconds longer before squeezing her eyes shut. She was almost afraid of his response. What if he didn't want their relationship to go down that road? Maybe she'd been too sudden with this announcement?

Thomas had stopped breathing. His heart had almost stopped as well, but as Kelly's words began to take effect it raced faster than he thought it ever had before. Momentarily stunned, his mind seemed to process this new information excruciatingly slow. Once he had understood, Thomas couldn't begin to decide what to do next.

She felt his lips press against hers. His kiss was soft and gentle at first, and then as she began to kiss him back it deepened and became more passionate. Suddenly he couldn't be close enough to her, lowering his body onto hers the rest of the way as he rested on his elbows. While both of Thomas' hands grazed her cheek and played with her auburn strands, Kelly slid both arms around his neck and grasped the back of his shirt.

Kelly had an increasingly difficult time keeping her actions in check and as she kissed Thomas her mind grew clouded and fuzzy. She no longer wanted to think, only to be closer to Thomas, to kiss him and then…she did not want to stop. She felt as if her core was on fire, she shivered with every one of Thomas' light touches. The last coherent thought she had was, _"__Thomas __loves __me __back.__" _

Thomas grasped on of Kelly's wrists and lowered it to the bed before sliding his rough hand into her delicate one. Their fingers intertwined as Thomas lifted himself up just enough to smile down at his now lover. The redhead shyly beamed back at him, then with her free hand reached up toward him. He barely tensed up before realizing that it was not his mask that she was after, but his tie. Why was she pulling at his tie?

Kelly's slender fingers worked the striped tie out of its knot before sliding it out of the collar of Thomas' shirt in one fluid motion. As she dropped it to the floor Thomas seemed to let out a sigh of relief. She reached up again, and as Thomas gave her a quizzical look she began unbuttoning his shirt, slowly working her way down from the neck toward his stomach. He watched her work steadily for a short time before deciding to help out. Off the shirt went onto the ground just like the tie, and Thomas straddled Kelly as he looked eagerly down at Kelly's giggling frame.

She was only giggling girlishly, not in the rude and mean spirited manner which he was accustomed to…he could tell the difference. As she gazed at him she reached out with both hands and grazed his skin with her fingertips. Beginning with his muscular, broad shoulders and working her way down to his abs, Kelly traced every minute scar and ripple of muscle on the way. Thomas never experienced anything like it…he almost couldn't control himself but barely kept from moaning aloud. His skin was so sensitive to another's touch that every movement of her fingertips sent shivers through his body.

"_She __should __be __careful.__" _ Lucid thoughts were hard to come by now in Thomas' mind, but he had a point. Being so much larger and stronger than Kelly, if he should lose control now there was no telling what might happen. The way she was making him feel, tempting him like that, was dangerous. He had just enough willpower to hold off for now…but how long would that last?

Thomas now had an animalistic need to be closer to Kelly. There was a deep urge to feel her skin on his, and beyond that he didn't quite know. He figured he would know when he got to that point. Right now, Kelly's dress had to go. He grasped the hem of the plaid get-up and gave Kelly a look that meant, "Help me with this." Kelly rose up toward him and in one rapid movement Thomas pulled it over her head, exposing her petite frame. All that was left on her now was a white bra and panties. Kelly laid back down, her arms resting over her head on the pillow, her grin inviting Thomas to join her. He had seen women before, in many manners of clothing and then naked as he butchered them, but to him they had been meat. Kelly was…breathtaking. She was slender with a small waist that widened gracefully at her hips, and her skin had the same porcelain complexion here too. Her breasts were full and completed Kelly's attractive hourglass figure. Thomas sucked in a breath; compared to all the women he'd seen, Kelly had no peer. He thought she was almost sacred in comparison.

Seeing her sprawled out almost naked in **his** bed and underneath him almost overwhelmed Thomas. He had to fight the urge to rip her remaining clothes off as he lowered himself again. He kissed her lightly once then moved on to her neck. Kelly moaned and arched her back and as she did Thomas slid his hand underneath her and unhooked her bra, sliding it across her arms and off completely. He continued to kiss her neck, and then her lips again as he rested on his right elbow and his left hand trailed down her body until it met the top of her panties. These he slid off with ease as Kelly brought her legs up enough to help him. This was much better.

"_Something__'__s __still __not __right.__" _ Thomas frowned slightly before noticing Kelly's hand reaching for his belt. He watched her undo it and slide it out of the belt loops, toss it carelessly aside, then begin to unfasten his pants. He took her hand, gave it a slight squeeze, and got up from the bed to take them off himself. Now completely naked, Thomas rejoined Kelly in the bed. With one knee he separated her legs, and then spread them wider as he edged the other between them. Kelly had that cloudy look in her eyes again, but Thomas knew that was a good thing now.

He had an overwhelming hunger to touch and kiss every part of her body, and with each movement he made she gasped or moaned. Something about knowing she enjoyed it so much made his hunger deepen, but it also made him proud of himself. She pressed herself into him as much as possible, kissing his neck and running her hands down his back and along his arms. Thomas moaned aloud as Kelly starting kissing down his chest. He stopped her, grasping her shoulders and pushing her back down.

He smiled down at her then did what he'd vowed never to do: his hands reached back and slowly undid the ties to his mask, the mask that had shielded Thomas as much as it had the world. The ties were undone. Thomas shot a meaningful look at Kelly, closed his eyes and lowered his arms. The air on his skin felt refreshing, but the silence was tying his stomach in an anxious knot. Thomas reluctantly opened his eyes fully expecting Kelly's beautiful face to be twisted in a grimace of disgust.

When she had first met Thomas, Kelly would've screamed or stared in horror had he chosen to unveil himself. Two days ago she would've had the sense to look away quietly. Now things were different. She did study him curiously however, something she couldn't quite help no matter how long they'd known each other. She noted that the majority of his face looked perfectly normal, but his nose was mostly gone and he had what appeared to be a skin condition affecting a small area on his right cheek. Of its own accord, her hand rose to touch his temple, her fingertips gliding down his cheek and along his jaw. So intently was she studying his visage that she failed to notice that he was viewing her reaction through barely opened eyes.

"_What __is __she __doing?__"_ Thomas barely had time to ask himself before he was answered with a jolt of heat that shot through him. He had never imagined he could feel this…good. His body shook with the effort of controlling himself. Kelly had brushed her soft lips against his cheek before kissing him again. Even he avoided touching his face, and his skin rarely felt the touch of a breeze. Thomas feared that someone would see his true face so much that he'd taken to relieving handsome victims of their faces and making masks for himself. He had most fortunately chosen to wear his old leather mask the day he'd met Kelly. She would never have reacted the same way toward him had he donned his latest victim's face as he'd planned. But that didn't matter not…she had embraced him without a mask.

She loved him the way he was. Thomas didn't need to hide from her. He even hid from Mama…he couldn't believe it.

"Thomas? Are you alright?" Kelly's blue eyes were darkened with concern as she gazed into his, her forehead wrinkled while she wondered what he was thinking about. His eyes focused again and he smiled before leaning down to kiss her. "Thomas…" Kelly knew what she wanted to say but wasn't sure how to word it. She didn't get a chance to finish anyway.

Thomas kissed her deeply, relishing the feel of her hands running along his neck and through his hair. He only stopped long enough to move her into the middle of the bed before pressing his lips to hers. The urge was back, the pent up energy building inside him was threatening to take over, but he wasn't quite sure what to do with it. Beyond Mama's talk about what girls and boys did to show that they really liked one another, Thomas hadn't a clue about romantic love. Thankfully Kelly seemed to know.

She had trailed her fingertips down his back, causing him to shiver, and now she was reaching underneath him. Kelly wrapped her fingers around him which elicited a sharp intake of air and deep moan. She closed her eyes and guided him where she wanted him to be. The tension made the air seem to weigh down on the lovers, both fighting to maintain composure.

Thomas felt where Kelly had guided him, and everything suddenly clicked. She felt so amazing, he could barely breathe as he took both her wrists, pulled her hands above her head and firmly kissed her. Slowly he moved forward into the warmth she'd showed him to, halting for a moment with each moan, until he was fully inside her. Thomas and Kelly looked into the other's eyes for the space of a second before losing themselves in each other.

They were one.

**So…I'm back ;) And about time too, right? I have quite a lot going on in my life now, but I will try to type up a new chapter every weekend. I promise! I've have wanted to finish working on this story for a long time, but never seemed to get a chance to do it! Thanks for the reviews in my absence, I look forward to hearing more feedback soon!**

**~Naruillin14**


End file.
